


Midnight

by LordofKavaka



Category: Castle
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2019-02-12 07:32:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 32,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12954387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordofKavaka/pseuds/LordofKavaka
Summary: Detective Kate Beckett has found the perfect apartment. However, there's one problem, strange things happen after midnight. A Ghost Love Story. Post-Season 2 AU. Caskett. Castle Halloween Bash 2017 Entry. Previously posted on FFnet October 15, 2017 through November 15, 2017.





	1. The Apartment

The apartment was amazing. When the realtor first walked her through it, Kate Beckett immediately fell in love with the custom office, surrounded by open bookshelves, that then led into an elegant master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom that had a large tub and a separate shower in the corner, both of which were sinfully luxurious. Kate had a thing for soaking leisurely in a bath, so it was nice that it wasn't one of those shower-tub combinations. And though she didn't have much time to cook with her busy work schedule, she simply adored the kitchen with its granite island countertop.

The apartment was simply stunning. However, no matter how much she loved the place, she knew she could never afford it. Nonetheless, she made an offer. With her salary, there was no way she'd match any other offers, but she couldn't help herself. Kate spent the next month continuing her hunt for a new apartment, all the while dreaming of moving into the loft on Broome Street, even though she knew such an event was highly unlikely.

While Kate was in-between places, she was crashing at her best friend's place. Lanie was a great friend, but living together just wasn't working, especially when it hampered their love lives. Not that Kate had much of a love life at the moment. Last summer, her ex-boyfriend, FBI Agent Will Sorenson, had returned to New York, and for a while— _a very short while_ —she gave it another shot. However, it didn't take too long to remember why they'd broken up in the first place.

Then, just a couple of months ago, Kate had been seeing a detective from the robbery division. It was a short-lived romance. Tom was a nice guy, but he really wasn't what she was looking for. The sex had been better than good, but beyond that she just didn't find the relationship that exciting. There was no spark, no surprises. In truth, except for their initial attraction, their relationship had been rather dull. And that was because Tom Demming was a safe bet. Kate had thought she needed that after Will, but after two months, she realized it wasn't.

And then came the stalker case. Kate had been working some pretty high profile cases as of late, which resulted in her appearing more frequently in the newspapers. A sociopath named Scott Dunn became obsessed with her. He wanted to challenge her to a battle of wits. His game became so extreme that the FBI came in to assist. He was a slippery bastard. He tricked them with a patsy, and then rigged her apartment to explode. Needless to say, she survived and eventually arrested his ass.

All this had culminated in her needing to find a new place to live.

It had been nearly three months since Kate had first gone through a walkthrough of the available loft in the building on Broome Street and had made her meager offer, when she got a call from her realtor. Her offer had been accepted. She was stunned. Surely someone else would have made a better offer than her. Her realtor informed Kate that hers had been the only offer. Yet despite her bafflement over the situation, she wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

So, she got the apartment. And with the help of her friends, she moved in two days after the lease was signed.

And later that night, with boxes still stacked and unopened in both the living room and office, Kate Beckett fell asleep with a smile on her face. Everything was perfect.


	2. The Books

Kate opened the door and stepped into her apartment. It had been a long, very exhausting day at work. The summer heatwave certainly didn't help. She could literally feel her sweat soaking her clothes. Once Kate locked up behind her, she immediately kicked off her heels and wiggled her toes on the cool hardwood floor, sighing with relief. Unlike her previous place, her new apartment had a working AC unit. Cool air pumped into the apartment, offering her a respite from the sizzling heat outside.

It was good to be home.

 _Home_.

Strange, she thought, that she already thought of this place as home, after only a week and a half. She was mostly unpacked, still had some boxes filled with books in her office, and a scattering of other things. But all in all, she'd made herself home in her new apartment.

After taking a long, cleansing breath, Kate walked into the heart of her apartment, making a beeline for her office. She tossed her bag onto her reading chair, and promptly started stripping out of her clothes. She pulled her blouse up and over her head, letting it fall to the floor as she slipped into the master bedroom. She squirmed her hips as she tugged her jeans down her long legs, kicking them off to the side as she scampered towards the ensuite bathroom.

Discarding her bra and panties in the hamper, Kate climbed into the corner shower, closing her eyes as she turned the handle sharply and was immediately assaulted with freezing cold water. She adjusted the temperature setting, keeping her back to the spray until the water was a lukewarm. Then she proceeded to wash off the sweat and grime from her long day. It didn't take long before she felt refreshed and clean. But she lingered, enjoying the luxurious nozzle settings afforded to her thanks to the expensive showerhead the previous tenant had installed.

Finished, Kate stepped out of the shower and took a brief moment to dry herself off, before wrapping her slender body up in an exquisite bathrobe Lanie had given her as a housewarming gift when she'd moved into the Broome Street apartment.

Tiptoeing through her bedroom, Kate entered her office, searching for her bag. She found it where she'd left it, resting on the seat of the corner armchair. Opening the flap, Kate retrieved her phone and checked to see if she had any messages. There were two, one was from her father, making sure they were still on for dinner tomorrow, and the other was from a guy Lanie was trying to set her up with. She shook her head. Unlike her friend, Kate didn't know if she was quite ready to date again. Even if the guy—Josh, if she recalled correctly—was a cardiac surgeon that rode a motorcycle.

She sighed as she listened to his message. Part of her felt pressured by Lanie's prodding, but there was another part that wouldn't mind a bit of company, something that was simple, with no expectations other than having fun. Her personal life was definitely lacking at the moment, but Kate really didn't want a relationship. Not wanting to fully commit to anything, Kate texted him back and made tentative plans to meet up on Saturday at a coffee house near Central Park. She shrugged. At the very least, she'd give him a chance, see if there was anything there. It couldn't hurt.

After plugging her phone into her charger and leaving it on her desk, Kate then padded out of her office in search of a late night snack before bed. Their new case had kept her busy, and she'd skipped dinner.

As she walked through the opened bookshelves, Kate was startled by a sudden cold breeze that wafted across the back of her neck. She shivered, and tugged her fluffy robe tighter around her lithe frame. Perhaps she had the air conditioning on a bit too high. But as she stared up, Kate frowned, realizing there was no vent above her. Where could that brush of cold air have come from? She narrowed her gaze and glanced around her. Something caught her eye when she looked back into her office. As a detective, she'd trained herself to spot what she liked to call 'the odd sock'. Her frown grew.

Odd.

She'd spotted an _odd sock_.

Kate slowly padded over to her desk, glaring down at the stack of books she'd been meaning to shelve. These were part of her mystery collection, from one of her favorite authors. However, she didn't remember stacking them there, or placing them in order of publication.

She stared at the book titles for a long moment, before shaking her head. She was being silly. Kate hadn't had anyone over since she initially moved in. So, if these Richard Castle books were arranged like this, then she must have done it at some time. She probably couldn't recall it right now because she was both tired and hungry. Chalking it up to that, Kate spun around and walked out towards the kitchen.

A little later, when she went to bed, Kate was so tired and focused on crawling under her comforter that she missed the intriguing fact that those very same books had somehow miraculously made their way from the top of her desk to a prominent spot on her half-filled bookshelves.


	3. Settling In

Okay, something was wrong with the wiring. Or the power outlet. Whichever it was, something was definitely not working properly. Kate sat up on the sofa and reached for the remote control, pressing the pause button. She frowned, growing increasingly frustrated with her entertainment system. All she wanted to do was watch a couple of episodes of _Nebula 9_ , but either her new flat screen TV would suddenly flicker off, or the DVD player would skip. Maybe it was a manufacturing error. It would be a hassle, but she could probably exchange it with the retail store for a new one.

Kate strolled around the entertainment center, and knelt down to examine the back. Everything looked to be in the right place. Kate might not be a high-tech person, but she could still handle setting up her television. She unplugged the unit, and plugged it back. And just for good measure, she disconnected all the other cords and wires, and plugged them back in. Then she ejected the DVD and re-inserted it. Grabbing the remote, she plopped back down on the sofa and pressed play.

The DVD player whirled to life, and it returned her to the main menu. Kate clicked through the episode listings, until she reached the one she'd been trying to watch. She started it and reclined back into the comfy cushions. The opening credits rolled, along with the corny theme music and she smiled. Kate didn't care what some people said about the show, she loved it. Nebula 9 had been a safe haven for her during a difficult time in her life. Lt. Chloe popped up on the screen and suddenly the image froze.

Grumbling, Kate sat back up and smashed the buttons on the remote control, trying to get the episode to continue playing. But nothing happened. The DVD remained stuck on the image of Lt. Chloe. Kate stared at the image, cursing in frustration. All she wanted to do was relax after a long day of work and watch a show that made her happy.

Giving up trying to solve it, Kate simply leaned back into the cushions of her sofa and waited for something to happen. Eventually, the playback skipped forward a few seconds and the DVD resumed playing the episode as if nothing had happened. There were no more pauses, freezes, or skips. She was able to watch the entirety of the episode, and the following one, without further incident.

After finishing the second episode, Kate stretched her arms above her head and yawned. She glanced at her father's wristwatch, noting it was after midnight. She really should get to bed. She powered off the TV and DVD player, and stood up, arching her back and wiggling her legs. She leisurely ambled towards her office, not in any hurry. Kate had always been somewhat of a night owl, even if she did have to wake up early in the mornings.

As she walked through the opening between the bookshelves, entering her office, she felt a cool breeze that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. And she shivered. She frowned, instinctually glancing up. Right. No vent. And the outside temperature had returned to normal after the summer heatwave, so the air conditioning had been turned off for the past week. She paused, brow furrowed.

Odd.

Pursing her lips, Kate shrugged it off as just some weird happenstance. She was still getting used to this place. Perhaps it had some quirks she hadn't yet learned. _Like faulty wiring_ , she thought sardonically, pondering the troubles she'd had with her entertainment system.

Kate trailed a lazy finger along the spines of the books on her shelves as she sauntered around her office, nibbling her bottom lip as she glanced at the titles. She always liked to read something before going to bed. She continued, softly humming to herself, when her finger hit an obstacle. Stopping, Kate turned her gaze to find that one of the books in her Richard Castle collection had been slightly pulled out from the rest, disrupting the smooth flow.

Odd.

She hadn't remembered leaving it like this. Shrugging, Kate pulled the book off the shelf and turned it around in her hands, smoothing her palms across the cover. _Deadly Storm_. A soft smile touched her lips. She remembered standing in line for hours to get it signed by the author. Truth be told, she'd sort of had a tad crush on Richard Castle back then. After all, the man was ruggedly handsome, and a bit of a charmer, but his sordid personal life—which had constantly been splashed across Page 6—left much to be desired.

But Kate didn't like speaking ill of the dead. Kate preferred remembering him for his wonderful words. And the pleasure and happiness they'd brought her. It wasn't his fault that some crazy fangirl couldn't handle it when he'd killed off his star character in _Storm Fall_. She shook her head, remembering the headline: _AUTHOR SHOT AT ROOFTOP PARTY_. Right in front of his mother and daughter no less. Kate shook her head. She felt for his daughter, having lost a parent herself.

_Her mother…_

Oh, how she missed her mother.

Her eyes grew watery.

Pulling out of the dark thoughts before she could spiral, Kate cracked open the book and ran her fingers down the front page, where, just underneath the title, was the author's signature. She narrowed her eyes as she recalled meeting him at the book signing. He'd been kind, smiling at her with brilliant blue eyes. Kate often wondered what he had in store for them with his next book. She'd have liked to have found out. It was a pity she never would. But life wasn't far, something she was all too familiar with.

A sudden shiver ran down her spine, and she watched as gooseflesh materialized on her arms. She couldn't explain it, but it almost felt like someone was watching her. Craning her neck, Kate glanced around the office. Was that a shadow in the corner? She squinted. No. It was just a play of light. There was nothing there. She was all alone. She frowned and shook her head, feeling silly.

Snapping the book close, Kate took it with her into the bedroom. Getting lost in the world of Derrick Storm was just what she needed before she went to bed.


	4. Comfort

Kate entered her apartment mildly distracted, head bowed as she glanced at her phone. She flicked her thumb across the screen, absently closing the front door behind her as she pulled up the text from Josh, the motorcycle riding cardiac surgeon she'd gone on a few dates with.

Things had gone well the first time around. He was most definitely easy on the eyes, and she admired his dedication to his chosen profession. It also helped that he enjoyed a long, leisurely ride on his motorcycle. She'd met up with him once, bringing along her Harley-Davidson Softail, and together they rode, side by side, through the boroughs. Yet, despite all the positives in his favor, Kate wasn't quite sure if they were well suited for one another.

They'd shared a handful of kisses, and even had a heated make out session at his place, but it really didn't do anything for her. And though it was very obvious he was skilled with his hands, there was no spark there. Kate sighed as she glanced down at Josh's hopeful text message, asking when she'd be free for another motorcycle ride. She chewed on her bottom lip as she contemplated her response. She really liked him, but that wasn't enough.

Decision made, Kate texted him back, seeing if he was available to meet for coffee tonight. Better to rip the bandage off than delay any longer. She preferred having this conversation in person. It wasn't right to do it over the phone. He was a nice guy, and he deserved that much. He answered a second or two later, apologizing, saying he was on shift, but he could break away for a quick coffee in the hospital cafeteria. That was fine with her. She let him know, and then immediately spun around to leave.

Kate returned an hour later, mission accomplished. It was never any fun breaking up with someone, even if it had been the right thing to do. If they'd continued on, she'd had just been hiding in the relationship. And that wasn't healthy. Kate didn't want to have a relationship just for the sake of having a relationship. Still, she felt pretty rotten about it. It always hurt more when the guy was nice. But just like Tom, even though he was a great guy, Josh just wasn't the guy for her.

Stripping her coat off, Kate tossed it over the back of the sofa and trudged towards the kitchen. She opened the freezer and grabbed a tub of chocolate ice scream. Retrieving a spoon on her return trip to the living room, Kate popped the lid of the tub of ice cream, and slumped down on the sofa. Kate turned the TV on and flicked through her DVR recordings, settling on an episode of _Temptation Lane_.

Whenever she felt blue, or was under the weather, she and her mom would camp out in the living room and watch the soap opera. She kicked her heels off and dug in, eating spoonful after spoonful of delicious chocolate ice cream. Kate promised herself she'd add an extra mile or two to her morning run to make up for the binge.

Her phone pinged, signaling a message. Kate reluctantly picked it up, worried it was Josh pleading with her to rethink her decision. But it wasn't. It was from Lanie. Kate pursed her lips and tilted her head as she stared at the text. If she was a believer in such things, she'd swear Lanie had ESP.

Kate texted her friend back, telling her that she was okay, and no, she didn't need company. It took her a while to convince Lanie, but eventually her best friend relented and let her sulk in peace.

Sighing, Kate forced herself up off the sofa. She stretched her back and returned the ice cream to the freezer before she could devour the entire carton. As she walked back to the living room, she shivered, the room temperature suddenly dropping a few degrees. Gooseflesh materialized along her exposed arms and the hairs on the back of her neck tingled. Just like the other week, she had the startling feeling that she was being watched.

Frowning, Kate glanced around, searching for the source of the sudden cold air. As she scanned her apartment, she could have sworn she caught sight of a shadow moving behind the bookshelves surrounding her home office. This was the second time she had felt like she was being observed while alone in her apartment. It was not a good feeling. It had her spooked. Wrapping her arms around her torso as she shivered from the mystery chill, Kate realized that she was still wearing her holster. She cursed. While it was a blessing now, Kate didn't like that she'd been too distracted not to deposit her service weapon in the gun safe after she'd returned home.

Drawing her Glock, Kate held it up in position and slowly stalked towards her office. She entered cautiously, sweeping around the room in a standard search pattern she often used while on the job with her partners, Detectives Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan, backing her up. Nothing. Her brow furrowed and she lowered her gun. There was no one there. The desk lamp was on, and the blinds were open. She let out a breath. It had just been a play of light.

Odd, though, she didn't remember leaving her desk lamp on. She holstered her weapon, and stepped over to turn it off. As she did so, she felt that mysterious chill again. But this time it was more isolated, directed at her shoulder. She spun around, pulling her Glock out and up at the same moment. But no one was there. Save for herself, the office was empty. Frowning, Beckett glanced around the room, biting her lower lip as she tried to come up with a rational explanation.

Perhaps she was just tired and emotionally drained from ending a short-lived relationship. Narrowing her eyes, Kate retreated back into the living room after securing her Glock in the gun safe. Plopping down on the sofa, she grabbed the throw blanket and leaned back into the cushions. Curling her legs under herself, Kate picked up the remote control and resumed watching _Temptation Lane_.

After two episodes, her eyelids started to grow heavy. Kate wiggled back into the comfy cushions, not wanting to move. She rolled her shoulders tiredly, emitting a quiet hum of approval as the tension in her neck and back slowly evaporated. It was like some unseen force was massaging her muscles. It felt so good. So… so very good.

Did she just purr?

Yes. She did. But she didn't care. Maybe it was just exhaustion setting in, making her delirious, but it almost felt like a reassuring presence was enveloping her.

Too tired to question it, Kate welcomed the unseen soothing support. And with the soap opera still playing on TV, she slipped further down into a relaxed, reclined position on her cozy sofa, telling herself she was just resting her eyes. As she started to drift off, Kate could have sworn she felt a hand tenderly caressing the top of her head, in a soothing and comforting manner, though a shivering chill did accompany the phantom touch.

Perhaps it was her mother watching over her, she thought contentedly.

But before she could ponder it any further, sleep took her.


	5. The Shadow

A month.

It had been a month since Kate Beckett had moved into her new apartment. Life on Broome Street was pretty good. Sure, her new place had some strange quirks—such as mysterious and odd chilly breezes that came out of nowhere—but other than that, it was great. She'd enjoyed her first full month in the loft. It was spacious, yet homey all at once. Plus, she was comfortable in it. She could come home, kick off her heels, and relax.

The only thing that nagged at her was the unexplained shadow she would occasionally see lurking in her office. Whenever Kate ventured in to investigate, she would find nothing there. She had been shrugging it off as a strange play of light, but after spotting it at least once a day—sometimes two times—for the last month, Kate was starting to get a little paranoid, a condition she was naturally inclined towards.

As a result, her observation skills went on high alert, and she started to notice little things that had previously gone overlooked. No longer did she disregard spotting a book out of place, or the displacement of items on her desk. Either someone was sneaking in while she was away, or she was being haunted. Since the latter was utterly ridiculous, Kate called a locksmith to redo her locks.

However, that didn't seem to stop her unwelcomed visitor. She'd find books on her desk when she hadn't put them there, coffee cups in the sink, like they'd been used. And once, she could have sworn someone had slept in her bed and had then hurriedly put it back together. Kate even suspected someone been using her laptop.

She had come home late one night, having lost track of time while working a case, and found her laptop on, screen still bright. At first, she'd shrugged it off, thinking she had forgotten to turn it off the night before, but then Kate remembered that she hadn't used her personal computer in two days.

It got so unnerving that she had started sleeping with her gun under the pillow. She wondered what little Katie would think, knowing that when she grew up, she'd swap Mister Snuffles, her favorite anamorphic stuffed elephant, for a Glock.

A sudden noise roused Kate from her slumber. Her eyes jerked open. She laid there, in the dark, straining her ears to listen. There was definitely a noise coming from her office. It was soft, barely audible, but it had been enough to wake her. Kate arched her neck and narrowed her eyes as she peered towards her office. There was a faint light filtering through the bookshelves.

Turning back around, she slid her hand underneath her pillow and curled her fingers around her service weapon. Slowly— _very slowly_ —she slinked out of her bed, crouching low as she quietly moved towards the opening between the bookshelves separating her bedroom from her home office. Using knowledge and skill acquired on the job, Kate approached with stealth.

Clutching her Glock tightly, she eased up against the jamb and stretched her neck to glance around the edge. The room beyond was dark. The only light seemed to come from the screen of her laptop. Kate pulled back and frowned. Why was her laptop on? She hadn't used at all this evening. And, if she recalled correctly, it wasn't even plugged in. Yet, when she took another look—YES—it was. She could see the power cord dangling off the side of her desk, weaving its way across the floor to the outlet.

Flicking her eyes up, Kate glared at the laptop. Was it simply malfunctioning? Computers didn't turn themselves on, did they? As she gazed out into the office, Kate also listened intently for the noise that had woken her from her dreamless slumber. Cocking her head, she squinted as she heard the faint rapping. It sounded like the clatter of someone typing. Wrinkling her nose in confusion, Kate cautiously slinked out of her bedroom, staying low as she entered her office.

Moving with care, she approached her desk. The closer she got, the more evident the typing became. A shiver ran up her spine as the room temperature dropped. Gooseflesh materialized along her exposed arms. Letting out a soft breath, Kate crouched low on the floor, and glanced underneath her desk, frowning when she didn't see anything. Pushing up, she risked a glance over the desktop. Her mouth dropped on a silent gasp, ducking down just as fast. No, she shook her head. That was impossible.

It was that shadow. It was back.

But this time it was more defined. Thanks to the glowing light from the laptop's screen, Kate was able to discern the shadow's shape. It was definitely humanoid. Biting her lower lip, she firmed up her grip on her Glock and stood, aiming it at the chair sitting behind her desk.

Kate held her breath, her heart pounding beneath her breast as she stared at the shadowy shape.

The clattering of keys stopped immediately.

"Gotcha," Kate nearly growled, proud that her voice remained steady. "Put your hands up and stand up… _slowly_."

She narrowed her eyes, waiting for the intruder to obey her commands. But nothing happened. It was almost like no one was there. A cool blast of air blew across her face, and she gritted her teeth, stifling a shiver. Her brow furrowed, though, as she cocked her head and stared in amazement as the shadowy shape seemed to diminish and then vanish, like it had never been there in the first place.

Jerking forward, Kate flicked on the desk lamp, keeping her firearm aimed on her unwelcomed guest. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the sudden burst of light that filled the room. But when she looked back up, there was nothing. Kate rushed around her desk, mouth dropped in stunned bewilderment. There was no sign that anyone had ever been there.

Slowly rotating around, Kate scanned the entire office. There was nothing. Nothing at all.

Biting her lower lip, she glanced down at her laptop. It was still on. Tentatively, still uncertain what had just happened, Kate sat down in the desk chair and gazed down at the computer screen. Her brow furrowed even more as she noticed a new word document file had appeared on the screen's desktop. Moving her free hand up, Kate moved her finger over the trackpad, and selected the file. MS Word opened and her frown deepened.

 _What the hell?_ Kate thought as she gazed at the beginnings of a manuscript for a novel. She only had one explanation for what she was seeing. Someone had hacked her computer. Yes. That was it.

However, Kate was too stunned by what she was seeing, she failed to notice that her laptop was not presently connected to the internet.


	6. The Laptop

Kate took her laptop into work with her the next morning. She hadn't deleted the word document, figuring the computer tech might need to see the file that had been put on her hard drive. As usual, Kate was the first one to arrive. She offered a polite 'good morning' to the desk sergeant and rode the elevator up to the fourth floor. Disembarking from the lift, Kate strolled over to her desk, deposited her bag and laptop, and then made for the break room and some coffee.

She had to wait until mid-morning before she could drop her laptop off with Tory Ellis. Kate hoped she could find out what was going on with her computer. After leaving it with Tory, Kate went about her day, going out with Detectives Esposito and Ryan a handful of times to run down some leads on their current case.

It was late afternoon when Tory stopped by Kate's desk to inform her that nothing was wrong with her laptop. Kate begged to differ, but Tory insisted that there was no malware or any other sign that her computer had been hacked. When questioned about the word document file, Tory informed Kate that as far as she could tell, it had originated on the laptop itself and hadn't been planted.

Grumbling to herself, Kate stowed the device back in her bag and ignored it for the rest of the day. Thankfully, Esposito and Ryan came back from their outing with their suspect in tow. She smiled to herself as they took him to the box. Finally, something to brighten her day. Kate relished interrogation. She excelled at drawing out the truth from unwilling persons. Leaning back in her chair, Kate waited for her partners to return and brief her on what they'd found while picking up their suspect.

When Kate arrived home, it was with a satisfied smile on her face. It took an hour of nonstop grilling, but the suspect finally cracked, and confessed. Wrapping up a case always put her in a good mood. And after the uniforms had taken the scumbag down to booking, Kate and the boys—joined by Lanie—went out for a couple of drinks. It didn't slip her notice that when they all made their leave after the last round, Lanie Parish and Javier Esposito went off in the same direction. Kate rolled her eyes and shook her head as she chuckled to herself. Her friends thought they were being all subtle. But it was so obvious.

Feeling buoyed by getting an arrest, Kate had momentarily forgotten about her laptop. Plus, she was still a little buzzed from their celebrating. After locking the door behind her, Kate made her way into her office, and shrugged her bag off, leaving it on top of her desk, before scurrying off to the bathroom to relieve herself and wash up.

Kate exited her bedroom in more relaxed clothing. After a quick rinse in her luxurious shower, she'd changed into some leggings and a comfy t-shirt. As she walked back into the office, she worked at tying her hair up into a messy bun. Just as she finished, a chilly breeze trickled down her spine, causing her to shiver. Her eyes went wide as she gazed down at her desk, and a curse slipped past her lips.

Her bag had fallen off the side of the desk. But that wasn't what had her swearing in astonishment. It was the fact that her laptop was floating in mid-air. As if sensing her presence, or having heard her curse, the device promptly ceased its unnatural hovering, landing with a soft thud on the desktop.

The room got very cold, very fast. Her teeth chattered, and her breath fogged in front of her face. Kate stood there, stunned, frozen in place. The air conditioning system was most definitely off. So, something very, very strange was happening here. Kate swore she could hear footsteps, like someone was making a hasty retreat from the room, then stopping and changing their mind. Her eyes glanced around, searching, but she was all alone. The office was empty. Yet Kate's gut was telling her she was being watched. She didn't know what it was, but she wasn't above admitting that it was starting to scare the shit out of her.

Then, very faintly, she thought she heard a voice. She narrowed her eyes, trying to find the source. She glanced through the opened bookshelves, out towards her living room, but no one was there. Then she turned towards the windows. They were shut tight, just as she'd left them. She inhaled a shaky breath and strained her ears to make out what was being said. It took her a while, battling the unnatural chill and her overwhelming need to curl in on herself, to clearly pick out the word.

"Read."

That was all. The mysterious voice was telling her to read. Read what? Her lips parted, about to ask for a clarification, but she stopped. What was she doing? She shook her head, feeling foolish and silly. There was no on there. No one to talk with. No one to answer her query.

And then, the temperature returned to normal, just as quickly as it had turned cold. A tingling feeling brushed down her arm, causing gooseflesh in its wake, and then, whatever it was, was gone.

Not knowing what to do, Kate stood there, and waited to see if anything else would happen. When nothing did, she forced her legs to move and carry her over to the desk. She hesitantly sat down, and rubbed her trembling hands together. Kate had faced down many of humanities worst, and experience more heartache than she cared for, but this was something entirely different. It had her spooked.

 _Read_.

The word echoed in her head, penetrating, demanding. She swallowed, and bit her bottom lip, frowning as she leaned forward and grabbed her laptop, pulling it closer. Lifting the top lid, she pressed the power button and waited for it to boot up. Almost like she wasn't in control of her actions, Kate moved her finger across the trackpad and wordlessly selected the mysterious file on the desktop.

Once Microsoft Word had loaded the manuscript, Kate let out a shaky breath, and narrowed her eyes as she stared at the copious amount of words.

 _Read_.

The command still sat in her mind, nudging her onward.

 _Read_.

And she did.


	7. The Manuscript

Kate stayed up all night reading the manuscript. It was good. Really good. It followed the adventures of a beautiful and tough detective named Nikki Heat as she worked to solve a murder despite the irritating attentions of a journalist named Jameson Rook following her around for an article he was writing about her.

It wasn't complete, but enough of it had been written that Kate could easily notice some parallels with her own life. This novel in progress was about her. Well, not really about her, but it was close enough. It was obvious to Kate that she was the inspiration for this Detective Nikki Heat. She wasn't entirely sold on that name, though. It sounded more like a stripper name than a cop name.

Still, the story was good. And the characterizations were surprisingly insightful. She didn't exactly like that the main character was a mirror of herself, but she couldn't deny the fact that it was very well written.

After finishing her first read through, Kate returned to bed and caught a few winks of sleep before heading in to work. She was distracted all day, thinking about the previous night and the manuscript on her laptop. It worried her. If she believed in such things, Kate would think she was being haunted. But her rational mind couldn't handle such a conclusion. Was she going insane?

Unfortunately, work wasn't too busy. She was stuck mainly doing paperwork. Kate wished she had a juicy murder to divert her unsettling experiences in her new apartment. All she could think about was the shadowy figure, the cold breezes, and that damn manuscript. It troubled her.

Normally she wouldn't use her police resources for personal reasons, but Kate needed answers. All the same, the job came first. She had always prided herself on her professionalism. Kate made sure she did all her paperwork, before accessing the DMV database. When she'd first perused the apartment, the realtor had informed her that the seller had wished to be anonymous. And Kate was willing to respect that. However, with everything that had happened, she now needed to know who was the previous tenant of the Broome Street loft.

Kate entered her new address into the system. Not surprisingly, her name came up. Thankfully, as a seasoned investigator, Kate knew how to work the database. She did a history search on the address, and waited for the request to go through. She leaned forward on her elbows, chewing on her bottom lip. It was taking too long. Kate nearly jumped when her desk phone started to ring.

"Beckett," she answered in her customary fashion.

It was dispatch. She minimized her search window, and called out to the boys. They had a case.

Kate wasn't able to return until later that evening. She sat down at her desk, exhausted. They'd made some headway on the case, but were still looking into some people of interest. It would take a day or two to cross check a few things before Ryan and Esposito could bring someone in for her to question. She was about to shut her computer off when she remembered the DMV search.

Moving the mouse, Kate brought up the search results. She clicked the link that led to the resident history for her address, and waited for the screen to load. Her mouth dropped when she finally saw the name.

Richard Castle.

"Shut the front door," she mumbled to herself as she stared in shock at her computer screen.

She doubled checked the results, clicking back and selecting the residence history request again. It didn't change a thing. Richard Castle's name came up once again. Kate checked her wristwatch, and told herself it wasn't too late to call the realtor.

A hurried woman answered.

Kate made some pleasantries, before making a request. The realtor once again asserted the seller's desire to remain anonymous. Kate pressed on, informing the woman she already knew the previous tenant was Richard Castle, and all she needed was confirmation. After a lingering pause, the realtor relented, confirming that point, but still refused to divulge the seller's name. That was okay. Kate had a pretty good guess on that point. Most likely the author's mother.

Satisfied, Kate log off and shut her computer down. She collected her things and went home.

After locking the front door, Kate went straight to her kitchen. She retrieved a bottle of wine from the refrigerator, and poured herself a generous glass. Taking the bottle with her, Kate then went to her home office. A cold breeze brushed across her as she entered. Pursing her lips, she shivered. She took a sip from her glass of wine, and then sat down behind her desk. A laugh tumbled from her lips when she noticed her laptop was already turned on. Not surprising at all. Perhaps she was going a little crazy after all. Was this even real?

Shaking her head, Kate moved her finger across the trackpad and opened up the word document. The manuscript came up, and she scanned her eyes over the words, noticing that more had been added while she'd been a work. Sipping her wine, Kate read the entire thing. And then again. After the fourth reread, Kate recognize the writing style. It was undoubtedly a work by Richard Castle. As one of her favorite mystery novelists, she was very familiar with his writing.

And this was definitely written by Richard Castle.

She leaned back and let that thought sink in.

Her favorite author was writing a book about her. She frowned. That made no sense. Richard Castle was dead. How could he then be writing a book about her?

Kate shivered as a cool breeze wafted across the office. She felt a tingling along her arm, and looked down, watching as gooseflesh materialized along its path. She shivered again as her mind gradually accepted the only possible explanation. Once she eliminated the impossible, whatever remained, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. Still, it was a little hard to stomach. This was utterly ridiculous. It couldn't be true. She was going crazy. Yeah. That's what had happened. But…

The chill blew across her face. Kate rolled her shoulders and released a breath, staring down at the computer screen.

This was absolutely insane, but it was the only explanation she had.

She was being haunted by Richard Castle.


	8. The Ghost

She had to be out of her mind. Really. She had to. How could she, Detective Katherine Houghton Beckett, for the minutest of moments, even contemplate—let alone, believe—that she was being haunted by the ghost of the recently and famously departed mystery novelist extraordinaire, Richard Castle. It seemed so utterly ridiculous. Detective Kate Beckett did not believe in ghosts. She believed in facts— _cold hard facts_ —backed up by evidence. Yet, there was a manuscript, written by a deceased author, on her laptop computer. Either someone was playing a very elaborate prank on her or the impossible was real.

A chill ran down her spine, and Kate shivered. She didn't know what to believe. It was all too mind-bogglingly insane. However, the idea that she was being haunted seemed to fit in with all the strange happenings she'd experienced since moving into the loft on Broome Street. There was the shadow, the constant feeling of being watched, the sudden cool breezes, and the unexplained movements of certain objects, namely her books. If she was being haunted by a spirit, it seemed particularly interested in her home office.

Kate stood up and paced, wringing her hands together to expel her nervous energy. She couldn't believe she was actually considering this. It went against everything she'd learned during her training to become a detective. Gnawing on her lower lip, Kate spun around her heels and went back to her laptop. She ignored the cool air as best she could, only glimpsing down briefly at her arms as gooseflesh materialized when she sat down behind her desk.

Adjusting her laptop on the desktop, Kate pulled up the web browser. She logged into the secure NYPD database. Kate was no stranger to bringing work home. This wouldn't be the first time she'd used her personal computer to access the NYPD network from home. After going through the security protocols, Kate was granted access to the system. She could now run the same searches she would on her computer at the Twelfth Precinct.

Wiggling her fingers, she rapidly typed out Richard Castle's name, hunting for any and all police reports associated with the mystery writer. The first item that came up was a report of the author stealing a police horse and taking a joyride… in the nude. She chuckled at that, half-imagining what it would have been like to be the arresting officer. He clearly had connections, because he got off with little more than a warning. Scrolling down through the search results, Kate finally found what she was looking for.

Yes. She'd remembered correctly. Castle had been attending a launch party for _Storm Fall_ , the last book in his popular Derrick Storm novels. Being a fan of his work, Kate easily recalled the buzz on the forums about the release. Rumors had circulated for months that he was going to kill off Derrick Storm. A lot of people were angry and upset. Kate wasn't too thrilled herself. The world of Derrick Storm had been a refuge for her after her mother's death. In the Storm books, the good guys always won. And that was something that offered her some comfort.

The police report stated that Castle had been at the bar, talking with his teenage daughter, Alexis, when a woman by the name of Liz Keller, approached him while pretending to be a detective needing his assistance on a case involving his earlier works. Kate had never known that part of the story. It stunned her, because she clearly remembered considering doing just that, but rejecting the notion of involving the mystery novelist. In the end, she hadn't needed his help, though it took her longer than she liked to uncover Harrison Tisdale as the one responsible for the murder of his sister, Allison Tisdale.

Shaking her head, Kate returned to the present. She narrowed her eyes as she stared at her computer screen. According to the report, when Castle turned around to respond to the woman's phony police inquiry, she'd then screamed hysterically about him murdering the love of her life (aka Derrick Storm), and then she had shot him, point blank, in the face. Right in front of his daughter.

Kate closed her eyes, feeling tremendous sympathy for Alexis Castle. She knew better than most the grief of losing a parent, but she hadn't had to witness it in person. Kate could only imagine the pain and anguish the young teen must have gone through. Her own—though deep—must be pale in comparison. She felt a bit of moisture in her eyes, and blinked rapidly, surprised at the display of emotion. Kate dabbed at her eyes, but was unable to prevent a single teardrop from slipping down her cheek.

She raised a hand to wipe it away, but before she could do so, Kate felt a cool press of a phantom hand to her cheek, tenderly brushing the tear away. Her face tingled as the room temperature around her dropped significantly. Gooseflesh erupted along her skin. Her breath fogged in front of her face. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. And Kate shivered as she felt a presence enter the room. She clenched her jaw, and sat stock still, her heart beating rapidly beneath her breast.

Her eyes scanned the room, searching, for what, she did not know. But that's when she saw it. In the corner, by the armchair, a faint shape materialized in the shadows. It was definitely humanoid. _Her shadow_. He was back. Kate held her breath, staring back at the specter as the air around her seemed to be charged with energy. Slowly, a form began to take shape—eyes, nose, mouth, ears. A gasp escaped her lips as she recognized the ruggedly handsome visage of the deceased author. He was painted in a blue aura, buzzing about him as he slowly materialized before her. His form wasn't solid, but rather transparent. She could see straight through him.

He stared at her for a long moment, and Kate's heart nearly stopped from the intense look in his eyes. And then he smiled at her. It was warm and familiar, like that shared between old friends long parted now reuniting. She swallowed, unsure what the appropriate response would be.

And then, just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone.

The room temperature slowly returned to normal. Kate blinked her eyes lazily, still feeling the chill deep in her bones. Either she had just hallucinated or she had just seen Richard Castle's ghost. Whichever it was, her life was definitely about to get a lot more interesting.


	9. First Words

Kate spent the majority of the next two weeks in pure denial, something she was extremely good at doing. She focused on her work, which was another thing she was extremely good at doing. Lanie, her best friend, had often accused her of being a workaholic. There had been many canceled girl nights out that Kate had to call off because she was wrapped up in a case. However, that didn't always work with Lanie. It wasn't unheard of for her best friend to corner her in the woman's restroom, and twist her arm until she agreed—under much duress—to go out for drinks after work, and perhaps, some dancing.

Drinks and dancing were always nice distractions from the stress of her work and the grief of her past. And with the recent developments in her home life, Kate needed a distraction. So, when Lanie cornered her in the bathroom on Friday, Kate surprised her by not putting up any resistance, as her best friend had expected.

After changing clothes at Lanie's place, the two of them went out to a night club, drank some cocktails and danced to some music. Kate even casually flirted with a cute guy, but she wasn't interested in anything more than a dancing partner for the evening. Thankfully, the guy accepted that, and wasn't pushy or handsy. She enjoyed the escape from the craziness that had been her life as of late.

However, as nice as it was to get away for a little while, Kate knew that she couldn't ignore her visitor back home. She shared a few drinks and a nice conversation with her male company, and after fending off Lanie's insistent—and unwelcomed—advice that she should take the guy back to her place and lose herself in some spirited sex of the one night stand variety, Kate was able to make her leave at a relatively decent hour.

Arriving back at her loft, she released a breath and locked up. She wiped her brow, and smiled. She'd enjoyed herself. It had been a while since she'd simply cut loose and had some fun. Kate needed to remember to thank Lanie for always being such a good friend. She really didn't deserve her, but she had her and she wasn't going to complain.

Kate kicked her heels off and shrugged out of her coat. A cool chill brushed across her back, causing her to shiver. It took her buzzed brain just a brief moment to connect the signal that her shadow was present. She breathed in deeply, filling her lungs with the cold air. Her arms erupted with gooseflesh, and Kate bit her lower lip, skipping her eyes around the living room, searching for any signs of her ghostly housemate.

There was still a part of her that refused to believe she was being haunted by her favorite mystery novelist, but every night, when she returned home from work, Kate would check her laptop and discover more chapters in the growing manuscript about Detective Nikki Heat. Recently, her fictional alter ego had developed a shadow of her own in the form of roguishly handsome and charming investigative journalist Jameson Rook. The name had Kate snorting in amusement.

_Rook._

_Castle._

Could the guy be any more obvious?

But what surprised her even more was the clear attraction Castle wrote between the two characters. And with Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook being literary representations of her and the deceased author, it had Kate wondering what was going on with her ghostly companion. What exactly were his intentions in haunting her?

Seeing no indication that the shadow was present—at least in the living room—Kate padded towards her office, and went straight for her laptop, a habit she'd developed ever since discovering the manuscript that ran counter to her plan to ignore the strangeness of it all.

Kate flipped the lid up, nonplussed by the fact it was turned on. She scanned through the latest additions to the manuscript, which now had a name: _Heat Wave_. When she finished reading, Kate grinned gleefully. Even though she still found the name of the heroine dubious, she approved and enjoyed how she was portrayed. It was a good book. And if he was still alive, and able to publish, Kate had no doubt it would become a bestseller.

She had been so absorbed with reading the latest additions to the manuscript that the drop in temperature and the intense energy humming in the room's atmosphere went unnoticed by her. She failed to notice the side desk drawer sliding open. One of the many notebooks she kept there magically rose up out of the drawer and finding a spot on the desktop with a soft plop. Kate's ears perked up at the sound, and she glanced over with large, saucer eyes, as she witnessed the notebook's cover flipped open.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and gooseflesh rapidly materialized on her bare arms. Kate watched as a pen rose up out of her little elephant holder and floated in midair above the clean college ruled paper. The cap popped off the pen, landing on the desktop with a two—NO—three hop bounce. Kate held her breath as she watched the nib of the pen descend until it made contact with the paper.

The office buzzed with unseen energy, and Kate shivered from the cool blast of air and the anticipation. Her gaze locked in and she watched in astonishment as the pen swirled and pirouetted around in a supernatural ballet as words materialized on the white paper.

 _Nice dress_.

Her brow furrowed, and she blinked in confusion. Really? Out of all the first things the ghost of Richard Castle would communicate to her in this strange and supernatural way, this… _this_ was what he chose to write. Kate let out a scoff and rolled her eyes. Perhaps the gossip papers had been right about him. She hated to think ill of the dead, but with this first message, he was kind of coming off as a jackass.

She leaned back in her chair and tilted her head to the side, narrowing her eyes, glaring at the spot she assumed his head was.

"Really? That's what you're going with?" she asked out loud, not even thinking how it might look to an outsider.

The pen moved. Kate was still too stunned by what he'd wrote that the absurdity of the whole situation was temporarily lost on her. Later, she'd try and convince herself it was all just a side effect of the alcohol she'd consumed that night, but the notebook would still be there, taunting her with proof of the insane reality that was her life.

 _What? It's a nice dress_.

She could almost hear the whine in his voice.

Kate wrinkled her nose as she thought about his response. He was complimenting her dress, and he was writing a romance between two characters that were modeled on her and him… A gasp escaped her lips as a sudden thought struck her.

"Oh my God, have you been spying on me when I shower!?" she squawked, feeling completely exposed and violated. It was not a nice feeling.

_No. No. I wouldn't do that, I swear._

Kate sighed, releasing a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. The quickness of his response seemed genuine and sincere. Kate believed him. She didn't know why, but she did. Perhaps it was because he'd had a daughter when he was alive.

Frowning, Kate mulled over what to ask. Seizing on a rather germane question, she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, staring at the notebook on the desk.

"Why are you here?" she inquired, knitting her eyebrows together. "I mean, shouldn't you have… I don't know, moved on, or something? Why still here?"

She waited for a response. It took some time, but when the answer finally did, it peaked her curiosity even further than it already was.

_I don't know. Can you help me?_


	10. A New Normal

The following weeks were interesting, to say the least. Kate Beckett started establishing a new night time ritual. She would arrive home after work, fix herself a light dinner, pour a glass of wine, and would then retreat into her office to read the latest additions of _Heat Wave_ on her laptop. After which, she then talked with her ghostly housemate through the notebook on her desk. She grew more and more familiar with his oft-amusing, yet also endearing personality. The real Richard Castle wasn't entirely like he'd been portrayed in the tabloids. Sure, he might have been around the block a few times, but he was actually a genuinely sweet man-child.

Kate found herself laughing at his jokes more often than not. She even bounced theory off him when she was stuck on a particularly difficult case. Without even intending it, the loveable spirit gradually became her confidant. Late one night, before bed, Kate had even told him about her mother's murder and how it drove her to find justice for others so that they weren't left with the same questions she had.

Kate shared more with her ghostly associate than she had with any living person, including her best friend. She bemusedly wondered what Lanie would say to that? The shade of Richard Castle knew her in ways no one else ever would. And part of that terrified her, but mostly it gave her a sense of comfort. He never judged, never held her past actions against her. When she needed to vent, he listened. He gave her unconditional support. He was a true friend.

Despite being on different planes of existence, Kate felt closer to the deceased author than she had anyone else. She even started to care about him. It was strange. The only time she had ever met him in person had been at a book signing, yet now, as a phantom spirit haunting her apartment, Richard Castle seemed so much more real.

There were still times that she questioned her own sanity. Kate was a woman of reason and logic, and none of her current situation fit into any rational explanation. It defied logic. Yet this was her life. And despite the utter madness of it, she liked it. She'd grown used to having the rascally ghoul around. Kate now found it difficult to even contemplate not having him in her life.

As time passed, Castle grew bolder with his actions. On some days, Kate would come home to discover pots and pans floating around her kitchen. A salad would toss itself as pasta boiled. A magnificent dance would ensue as her shadow prepared a delicious meal for her. Kate was a fine cook herself, but her busy schedule left her little time to indulge in such things, so she tended to order a lot of takeout. As a result, she had no complaints about being pampered—or haunted—by Castle in such a fashion. She rather enjoyed it. She would sit at the bar counter and watch the show, laughing when the spoon or spatula would spin around in midair as her favorite ghost showed off his culinary skills.

They soon discovered that days like that, where he expelled a lot of energy, it was harder for him to assert his presence the following night. It appeared Castle was also learning his limitations as a haunting apparition or, as he jokingly referred to himself sometimes, an Apparition American.

While she wasn't being entertained by her ghostly companion, Kate would research his… _er_ … condition, for lack of a better word. She browsed the internet for all she could find on ghosts. Most were ridiculous nonsense. There was a lot of wild theories out there, and from her own experience being haunted, very few of them were accurate. Kate always knew Castle was present when the room temperature dropped. That was always the first sign. None of the websites on ghost sightings seemed to mention that in any abundance. If they did, it was almost an afterthought.

While she greatly enjoyed his company, and having begun to care about him, Kate wanted to help him move on to a better state of existence. It pained her to even think of losing him, but she cared for him too much not to want to help him.

One evening, Kate sat at the island counter with her laptop in front of her, not even flinching at the sight of a knife chopping up vegetables on its own. She pulled up Google, and typed 'ghost unfinished business' in the search field. The typical reasons that came up were, revenge, needing their story told, or an unwillingness to accept their death. Also included in the search results were a ghost needing to pass on one final message to a loved one, or needing to accomplish an important task before they could move on. Restless spirits sometimes just needed to find a way to make peace with what happened to them. If their death were tragic and sudden, according to one website, then they might simply not be able to move on.

Kate wondered about that. Castle's death had definitely been tragic and sudden. But he seemed aware of his own death. And from their numerous conversations via her ever-growing pile of notebooks, he had attempted, at varies times, to move on, yet was thwarted each time. Kate puzzled over the conundrum.

She had even tried reaching out to his family, using her police connections to get the phone number of his mother. The aging theater actress had agreed to meet her at a Bistro Café in Tribeca.

Martha Rodgers had a vibrant personality. Talking with her, Kate could see where Castle picked up a lot of his dramatic tendencies. She was fond of the older woman, and wished that they'd met under better circumstances. Martha had been surprised by her call, not sure what more she could say about her son's untimely and tragic death. It had all be so senseless.

Kate could tell the older woman was putting up a brave front, while on the inside still struggling with her grief. She sympathized. It was a fight Kate knew all too well. She inquired after Alexis, and Martha allowed her mask to fall for just a brief moment. The teenager now lived with her mother in California. And while she missed her grandchild, the only link she had left to her beloved son, but Martha believed it was best for her.

Unfortunately, despite their overall pleasant afternoon chat, Kate didn't learn anything new that could help her unravel the mystery of Castle's inability to make peace and move on from the earthly realm.

Castle had been angry when Kate had later informed him about her visit with his mother. He vanished for several days in a fit, throwing a ghostly tantrum, in which he made a complete mess of the office, tossing papers and books all over the place, breaking the desk lamp, and causing general mayhem. It was quite unlike him. It frightened Kate to see what he was capable of when angered. Afterwards, Kate had cleaned up silently, stubbornly holding back the tears, feeling confused and uncertain. All she wanted to do was help him, but to do so, she needed to know more about what happened. That was all. She hadn't meant any offense.

Kate had been sleeping in bed when he returned. The room had turned chilly, and she shivered under the covers. Energy seemed to buzz around her, and she felt a cold brush down her spine. The right side of the bed dipped down, and Kate smiled, sensing his presence. Arching her neck, she gazed up at his translucent visage, haloed in a magnificent blue aura. His eyes were wide with apology, and she smiled softly at him, ensuring him they were okay. He smiled back, and then, with a buzz of static electricity, dematerialized, leaving her feeling warm and happy.

Yet the predicament remained. Castle was unable to move on. It was a difficult problem to solve. Kate wasn't particularly well versed in the field or the intricate supernatural theories associated with it. And she was too reticent with her personal affairs to involve any of her friends. So, Kate had to rely on what she could discern through other means.

Sighing, Kate lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. It felt like she was getting nowhere. And she felt cruel for selfishly wishing there was no answer. Before he'd entered her life, Kate had felt so lonely, even when she was with someone. Now she had a constant companion. One who clearly cared for her. She wanted to help him, to provide him with the peace that he deserved, but she didn't know how.

The air around her buzzed with energy, and gooseflesh materialized along her arms. Kate sat up straight and released a low moan as she felt the phantom touch of his ghostly hands on her shoulders and neck. Her skin tingled with the comforting contact. She closed her eyes and eased into the massage. Castle had exceedingly talented hands. He knew just how to work the knots away and relax her muscles.

But then, something happened that she had never expected. As her shadow worked and kneaded at her tense muscles, Kate felt something strange inside. Her breath hitched, and her heart thumped beneath her breast. And though his presence almost always brought with it a cool embrace, Kate felt warmth. Her stomach muscles contracted, and she swallowed heavily. It took her but a moment to realize what was happening. She had become aroused by his ghostly touch.

Kate immediately jerked up and jumped out of the barstool, startling her ghostly companion. The air whirled around her, and she shivered from the chill that brush down her spine, yet her cheeks flared a rosy shade of pink, and her insides felt all warm and wanting. She heaved in a deep breath and abruptly dashed for the bathroom, closing the door and uselessly locking herself in. Castle was a shade, locked doors and walls were of no hindrance to him. But he'd respected her privacy, and Kate knew that she was guaranteed to be alone in the bathroom. She couldn't face him like this. It was too embarrassing.

She slumped down on the toilet seat, head in her hands as she worked to calm her aroused state. Kate cursed, and shook her head, confused and horrified.

What the hell was going on?


	11. Important Coincidence

For the next few weeks, Kate tried not to think about what had happened. It wasn't the last time, either, which didn't help matters. The whole thing was so very confusing. If she hadn't thought she was going insane before, she was seriously considering it now. Yet there was no denying the fact that she was becoming sexually aroused by the ghostly presence of Richard Castle.

It was a strange situation to be in. He really wasn't there, not in the traditional sense. When he touched her, brushing her arms or cheek—always so tender—and when he massaged her shoulders after a long day at work—she could hardly refuse such comfort when it was freely given—his phantom touch was charged with a chilly breath of air and generated gooseflesh all over her body. But instead of feeling cold, it made her feel warm inside. And it felt good. So… so good.

Kate didn't know what to think about it all. She had never had this reaction to, well… anybody. It would be different if Castle was a living, breathing, warm-blooded man, but he wasn't. He was a shade, a specter from beyond the grave, haunting her loft. He had no solid form, and she couldn't stare longingly into his eyes. Yes, since he had been famous when alive, Kate knew what he looked like, that he was devilishly handsome. And while she'd only met him once in person before his tragic death, she had been physically attracted to him then, so Kate had no doubt if he was still alive, she would still be attracted to him.

None of this made sense. How could she become sexually aroused by a ghost, an incorporeal being? Was she just lonely? Admittedly, it had been a while since she'd felt the intimate embrace of another, but that was nothing new. Kate wasn't some horny teenager. She was in control. Sex for the sake of sex no longer appealed Kate Beckett. Besides, there were other ways she could satisfy such needs. But, yes, it would be nice to actually have sex, but only with the right person.

The question remained though, if Castle were alive, would he be the _right person_? She was inclined to say yes. Having gotten to know him over the last couple of months, Kate found that she really liked him. A lot. He wasn't just a goofy man-child. Not always. He was actually rather sweet at times, and very genuine. He was also extremely intelligent and insightful. Kate had never had such intellectually stimulating conversations in her life. And, though she'd never tell him—his ego was big enough—he was really helpful when she needed to theorize about cases.

Kate wondered if things would have turned out differently if she had sought out his assistance in the Tisdale case. Perhaps he would still be alive now. And then her attraction to him wouldn't be so complicated. Or maybe it would. Kate wasn't exactly good at expressing her feelings. She had a lot of personal baggage. But it wasn't wise to dwell on what ifs. Kate had to focus on reality. And at present, Richard Castle was a ghost that she just so happened to be attracted to. She'd just have to deal with that.

The whole thing had her somewhat distracted for a handful of days, but then they caught a case that had intrigued her far more than it would have before she moved into the Broome Street loft. The victim had been Vivien Marchand, a psychic medium. Normally, Kate wouldn't give any credence to such things, but with her current situation, she found her more open to believing in the supernatural. So, when the victim's daughter, Penny approached Kate not long before she narrowed in on the guilty parties, she was a little more receptive to what the young woman had to say.

When she first saw Penny Marchand stepping off the elevator and cautiously entering the bullpen, Kate had assumed her visit had to do with the investigation. Penny had wanted to speak privately, so Kate directed her to one of the precinct's lounges. The young woman divulged that she hadn't been completely honest with her the other day, that she did have similar gifts to her mother, but hers were through dreams, meaningful dreams.

"Last night, I had a dream about you," Penny had started.

Kate's brow had furrowed, confused, not sure how to take that. "Okay?"

"And I can't really explain why," Penny had tried to explain, though even she seemed perplexed by it all, "but I feel very strongly that I'm supposed to tell you something. Something important. Are you ready?"

Not entirely certain what was going on, Kate had nodded. "I'm ready."

Penny had taken a quick breath before revealing this _something important_. "Alexander."

"Alexander?" Kate had parroted back, at a loss for the name's meaning.

"Alexander," Penny had repeated with a nod. "I don't know who he is or what he means to you."

"I don't know any Alexander," Kate had asserted, completely baffled by the entire conversation.

"You will," Penny had insisted, very sure of herself. "You will meet an Alexander, and he will be extremely important to you. At some future date, he may save your life."

She didn't know what to make of this information. So, she simply thanked Penny. Afterwards, while interrogating their suspects, Kate forgot about the conversation, but now as she was returning home after wrapping the case up, her mind recalled the awkward conversation. She wondered what it meant. Who was Alexander? And why would he be important to her? The last part intrigued her too. There were many different ways someone could save her life. It didn't necessarily mean it in the literal sense.

As she shut the door and locked up, Kate felt a cool chill dance down her spine and she shivered. A smile touched her lips and her eyes went alight with a joyfulness that had been lacking in her life prior to her move and the acquisition of a ghostly companion. She kept her leather jacket on, depositing her bag on the sofa before walking over to the kitchen, where Castle had prepared a lovely meal for her.

She sat down at the bar, and smiled, watching as the refrigerator opened and a bottle of red wine floated over. A cool breeze whirled around her as Castle approached and poured her a generous glass. She accepted it with a bright smile, and took a sip, relishing the rich flavor as it touched her tongue.

Castle dutifully waited until she finished her meal before opening up the notebook that had been left in the kitchen for their supernatural conversations. Kate grinned gleefully, never tiring of the entertaining display of a pen flying all by itself across the room and doing a little ballet as he wrote out his words.

_How was your day?_

"Good," she replied with a smile, taking another sip of her wine. "We wrapped up that psychic case today." She pursed her lips and frowned, remembering her conversation with Penny.

The pen swirled across the paper. _What is it?_

"Nothing," Kate shook her head. "Just… I had an odd conversation with the victim's daughter."

_How so?_

Kate rolled her shoulders and knitted her eyebrows together. "She said that I'd meet a man named Alexander, and that he'd be very important to me," she summarized, leaving out the part about this supposedly important man saving her life someday in the future. "It was just silly stuff that didn't make any sense." She dismissed it with a wave of a hand.

The pen danced quickly over the paper, and Kate had to narrow her eyes to read his hastily written question.

_Did you say, Alexander?_

She bobbed her head. "Yeah. Why?"

Kate watched as the pen moved. She admired his handwriting. Not many people today had such fine penmanship.

 _Because my middle name is Alexander_.

"No it's not," Kate said with a roll of her eyes. Her shadow enjoyed pulling her leg, but she wasn't as easy a mark as he sometimes thought. "It's Edgar."

This time the pen danced over the notebook for a little longer. Kate rested an elbow on the countertop and tilted her head, reading as he wrote.

_Been perusing the personal section of the Richard Castle website, have we?_

Kate snorted at that. He really was quite full of himself. She glanced back down as the pen continued to move.

_But no, I changed my middle name to Edgar for Edgar Allen Poe back when I changed my last name to Castle. My given name is Richard Alexander Rodgers. What a coincidence, huh?_

Kate wrinkled her nose as she re-read his response.

"Yeah," she said, in a wary voice. "Quite the coincidence."

She bit her lower lip, and tried to ignore the feelings that stirred in her chest at learning his real middle name. If Richard Castle was the Alexander that Penny was referring to, then she would be right in her assertion that he was someone very important to Kate. Maybe… just maybe, she thought, there was something to all this psychic business after all.

Kate flickered her eyes away from his words and took a long gulp of wine, trying to suppress the unanticipated assault of romantically inclined thoughts she was suddenly having in association with her ghostly housemate. She had to get control over this. It was completely insane. She could not allow herself to fall in love with a ghost.


	12. The Embrace

Kate stumbled into her apartment, a sob leaving her throat despite her best efforts to hold it back. She took a few steps across the threshold on wobbly legs, her emotions getting the better of her. Soon she was slumping down onto the floor, wrapping her arms around herself. Hurt and anguish flooded through her body as she bowed her head down, finally letting the tears come.

She felt used and betrayed. Vulnerable.

It had seemed like just a normal case. A bail bondsman had been murdered, and while she and Esposito had tracked down the victim's last bail, they literally ran into her former partner and training officer, Mike Royce. It had been a while since she'd last seen him, ever since when he'd up and retired without any warning. It was really great reuniting with him, however Kate had allowed her sentimentality and old feelings get in the way of her better judgement. And Royce had used that to his advantage and compromised her.

She was in turmoil. Her entire world had been turned upside down.

What had made it all the more worst was Royce had been one of the few people who knew about her mother's murder and how it drove her. While some showed pity, he hadn't. He offered understanding and encouragement. Royce had helped her become the cop she was today, and, like the naïve young woman she'd been back then, she'd fallen for him. It was foolish, and completely unprofessional, but Kate Beckett had been in love with her training officer.

And now, one of the few people she'd trusted most, had taken advantage of that trust and betrayed her.

Sniffling, Kate scrubbed her hands up and down her face, washing away the shame, and then heaved herself up off the cold floorboards. She mindless closed the front door and locked it, before turning around and sluggishly making her way into the living room. She kicked off her high heels and collapsed on the sofa, wallowing in her grief.

Royce's treachery had her questioning everything.

When her mother had died, Kate had hurt, badly. It had been the most devastating event in her life, so painful that it had almost physically hurt. Not wanting to feel that kind of pain ever again, Kate had constructed a wall around her heart to protect herself from such emotional torment. Mike Royce had been one of the few to make it over the wall. She'd allowed him in, and now he'd severely disappointed her.

A cool air roared around her, announcing the arrival of her ghostly roommate. Kate sniffled and wiped at her nose, but did not move to acknowledge his presence. Gooseflesh erupted along her arms and legs as the room temperature drastically dropped. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as the space around her filled with a buzz of static energy.

Kate kept her head bowed, shielding her face with her long hair. She really wanted to be alone, but she didn't have the energy to move or protest his appearance. And there really wasn't a way she could force Castle to leave. He came and went at will. But she knew, even in her haze of disappointment and grief, that if she asked, he would leave.

After a brief pause, Kate felt the tingling cold phantom touch of his hand on her shoulder. She pursed her lips and swallowed heavily, trying to regain a modicum of control. A shiver ran up her spine as the icy breeze caressed her cheek. She closed her eyes and released a small, shallow breath as she felt him cup her cheek. It was tender and kind. Always so very tender.

The cushion beside her on the sofa dipped and Kate glanced up, her eyes widening in surprise at the sight she saw. Castle was there. A glowing blue aura surrounded his transparent frame. His eyes were warm and welcoming as he looked at her with soft sympathy. Kate bit her lower lip and before she could think of it, she surged forward and fell into his embrace.

A gasp of astonishment left her lips as she was met with his solid chest. It wasn't like it would have been if he was alive, but it was solid nonetheless. His form buzzed with a strange kind of supernatural energy. As always, a chill emanated from his ghostly presence, but she found comfort in his cold embrace. Kate closed her eyes and buried her head in his chest as he held her, comforting her as only he could.

He listened as she stuttered through the events of the last few days, how she'd been so happy to see her training officer again, and how old—and long suppressed—feelings had resurfaced and compromised her. Kate didn't know what hurt more, Royce's betrayal or the fact she hadn't seen it. Once, he had stood for integrity and honesty. He had taught her to always be prepared for the unexpected when on the job. She prided herself on reading others, knowing what they were thinking. It was why she was such a good interrogator. But she'd been blind when it came to Royce. And it allowed him to double-cross her.

Pulling away, Kate brushed her hair back from her face and gazed up at his face, and finally being able to look him in the eyes, and see him, it had a calming effect on her. It was soothing and reassuring. Odd, really. Normally Kate would have preferred being alone at a time like this, to brood and wallow in solitude. But now that she had Castle in her life, even if he was a ghostly spirit, having him here now was actually what she really needed.

"I was so in awe of him, Castle, when I first met him," she said in a quiet voice, lost in memory. "I just hung on his every word. And then later I realized he was just making up stories to mess with me." She allowed herself a light laugh, but then grew serious again, remembering the recent hurt. "I can't believe he'd betray me like that."

She sighed and eased back into Castle's comforting embrace. The energy around him buzzed, and Kate wished he could stay this way forever, but she knew that was impossible. It was finite. And with all the energy he was expelling to keep this form, Kate understood that he'd be absent for the next couple of days. Yes, he'd still be there in the apartment, haunting in the shadows, but he would be unable to assert his presence until he'd refueled, as it were.

"You know what I thought when I first saw you?" he spoke for the first time, his voice a low rumble. It sounded strange to her ears, like it was coming out of a speaker on an old radio. She closed her eyes and savored the resonance of it. This was the first time he'd spoken to her, and she wanted to memorize the rich quality of his voice.

"Hmm?" she hummed in response, filtering her eyes open and glancing up at him.

He wore a cautious expression as he gazed down at her. "That you were a mystery that I was never gonna solve," he said. "Even now, after spending all this time with you, I'm… I'm still amazed at the depth of your strength, your heart… and your hotness."

Kate grinned. There was her reliable shadow. Habitually endearing. She could always count on him to make her smile. She glanced up at him, biting her lower lip, considering her next words. Perhaps it was time to be honest with herself.

"You're not so bad yourself, Castle," she said lightly, though she meant it, truly. Seeing him now, even in a supernatural glow and transparent form, she was as attracted to him as she had been when she first met him at that book signing.

They stared at each other for a long beat, an unspoken conversation passing between their locked eyes. Kate's heart thumped beneath her breast at the warmth sparkling in his cobalt eyes. And then he was dipping his head down, cupping her jaw in his cool hand as he captured her mouth with his. Her lips tingled with sensations that bounced back and forth between cold and hot. She felt the barest of pressure, a sizzling in the air as if sparks were flying around them. It was exquisite. Her eyes closed and she moaned, easing into his kiss. It was so surreal, yet so very wonderful at the same.

When he pulled back, Castle gazed at her with a look of longing that she was very familiar with. His ethereal hand moved to caress the side of her face, and she leaned into his touch, a soft sigh spilling from her lips. And then, like that, he was gone, leaving behind a snap of static electricity in the air. The room temperature gradually returned to normal.

Kate sat there on the sofa in a daze. She slowly brought a hand up and brushed her fingertips across her humming lips. That had been wholly unexpected, but not unwelcomed. Her body felt all warm and tingly. Her mood was vastly improved from when she'd initially returned home. A soft smile touched her lips as she stared longingly at the spot his ghostly form had once been.

It was odd, and maybe she was insane, but she could no longer ignore what her heart was telling her. The heart wanted what the heart wanted. And hers wanted him, ghost or not ghost. He made her happy. That was what mattered most. And even if he wasn't alive, his unearthly kiss had been more real than anything she'd ever experienced.

 _It was mutual, then_ , she thought absently.

Kate sighed, and leaned back into the comfortable sofa cushions. At least that answered one of her questions.


	13. The Gift

Kate awoke up the next morning feeling like a new woman. Her heart had broken with Mike Royce's betrayal. And then it had regenerated and strengthened with the unexpected, but wholly welcomed, ghostly embrace from a ruggedly handsome shade by the name of Richard Castle. It was all so surreal. And utterly insane, but Kate could not deny how she felt. It made her feel light, and carefree, something she had not felt in a long, long time. She liked it.

She sprung from her bed, practically dancing around her apartment as she made ready for work. The only dimmer to an otherwise bright morning was the fact Castle wouldn't be able to manifest himself for a handful of days. Whenever he expelled a lot of energy to break through into the earthly plane of existence, he would then be unable to express his presence for a while. It was something they'd learned when Castle made her elaborate dinners. She would miss interacting with him tonight. But she had an idea. And she needed to make a few calls before seeing if it was even possible.

The first call she made was to Martha Rodgers. She knew Castle hadn't been happy when she'd first reached out to his mother, but this time it had nothing to do with discussing his tragic death. Martha had been named the trustee of Castle's estate until Alexis Castle came of age. So, Kate would need to acquire Mrs. Rodgers's permission to do what she wanted to do.

The redheaded theater actress was delighted to hear from her, which honestly surprised Kate. They met for lunch at the same café as their first meeting. This was where the tricky part came in. Kate abhorred lying, but she could very well tell Castle's mother the truth. She'd either accuse Kate of playing on her grief or think she was insane. So, Kate had to come up with an easy story to believe.

"I found this in the loft," Kate said, handing over a printed off copy of Castle's finished _Heat Wave_ manuscript. "It was in the closet."

"Oh dear, I wonder how the movers missed it?" Martha gasped, clutching the manuscript to her chest like it was a precious jewel. "I didn't know he'd written anything other than Derrick Storm."

Kate nodded. "Neither did I," which was true, until recently.

"Have you read it?"

"Yes," she answered, pleased she didn't have to lie about that.

"And?" Martha raised a questioning eyebrow, curious to see this detective's opinion of her son's unknown work.

"It's good," Kate said, smiling softly. "Really good."

Martha beamed happily, staring down at the cover page. "Thank you," she said, skimming her hands lovingly over the title. " _Heat Wave_."

"It's about a female cop," Kate explained.

"Like you," Martha noted.

Kate grew silent, worried her ruse would be exposed. But Martha didn't take any notice, still gazing down at the manuscript in her hands.

"I think it should be published," Kate asserted, causing Martha to glance up at her. It was then she noticed the similarity in their eyes. Castle had inherited his mother's eyes. They both held that same creative spark.

Martha considered her suggestion for a long beat. "Yes," she eventually decreed, smiling brilliantly. "I like that idea. In a way, it's like he's still here."

Kate held her tongue. _You have no idea_ , she thought.

With his mother's blessing and guidance, Kate spent the next two days arranging a meeting with Castle's former Black Pawn publisher, Gina Cowell, who, much to Kate's chagrin, also turned out to be his ex-wife. Upon meeting the woman, Kate honestly didn't know what he'd ever seen in the woman. She was cold, lacking the zest and lively quality Castle possessed. Seeing that, Kate wasn't all that surprised the woman was his _ex-_ wife.

Gina was reluctant to even look at the manuscript, not even bothering to mask her doubt in its authenticity. Dropping Martha's name helped, though, and the publisher/editor eventually agreed to study the manuscript to see if it was worthy of the Black Pawn name. _Of course it's worthy_ , Kate thought, defensively. In her rather humble opinion, it was one of his best books. Kate groaned inwardly, but kept a smile on her face.

A new case kept Kate busy for the rest of the week. She stayed late at the precinct, working, only trudging home to catch a few winks of sleep and to shower, before hitting the pavement again. The Triple Killer, also known as 3XK, had resurfaced after four years of absence. It was all hands on deck. Captain Montgomery personally took charge of the investigation, having been one of the leads during 3XK's last killing spree.

The case was a twisty one. Kate could see why the Triple Killer still rattled Montgomery, even after all these years. They were able to link one of the victims to an ex-con named Marcus Gates. And with the help of his former cellmate, Jerry Tyson, lured him into a trap. Gates cracked in interrogation, confessing for the crimes. For his help, the D.A. agreed to provide Tyson with an early release. Kate sent Ryan to tell him the good news.

In was quiet in the bullpen as Kate finished up her paperwork. Esposito returned from booking, having delivered Gates to the uniforms, and glanced around, scowling. He came over to Kate and asked if she'd seen Ryan. She hadn't, assuming the younger detective had opted to go straight home to his girlfriend. Kate herself was looking forward to spending the rest of the evening with Castle when she finished the last of her paperwork.

However, that wasn't the case. According to Esposito, the two of them had planned to go out for drinks, since Jenny, Ryan's girlfriend, was working late that night. Kate immediately sprang into action, grabbing her Glock and marching for the elevator, Esposito right on her tail. They sped to the motel where Tyson was being kept, and Esposito busted down the door. They found Ryan tied up in a chair, blood dripping down his face from a cut above his brow.

Jerry Tyson was the real killer. The con had tricked them. He'd convinced Marcus Gates, his former cellmate, to take the fall. The guy was a master manipulator. Kate, who prided herself on reading people, had failed to notice the deception. Jerry Tyson had seemed like a good enough guy, just having been convicted of a petty crime. But now 3XK had slipped through their fingers, taking with him Ryan's badge and service weapon.

Ryan felt terrible. His partner tried to cheer him up as best he could while CSU arrived and swept the hotel room for evidence. It was useless. They already knew who did it. And now Jerry Tyson was in the wind.

Kate trudged home that night, defeated, feeling awful for her friend and colleague. Poor Ryan. The guy was really taking it hard. She hoped Jenny could cheer him up when she got off work. The last few hours had been so intense that she'd forgotten about her secret mission to get _Heat Wave_ published.

She entered the loft sluggishly, head down, still pondering their mistakes with Tyson, playing the detective's version of Monday morning quarterbacking. As soon as she closed the door behind her, Kate was assaulted by a brush of cool air. She could immediately feel Castle's presence. He didn't materialize, but her skin tingled for his ghostly touched as he embraced her, welcoming her home with a soft, almost cautious kiss. She closed her eyes and sighed, feeling just a little bit better thanks to just having him be there greet her.

A shiver ran down her spine as he caressed her cheek, smoothing her hair back from her face. And then he spoke, it was soft, barely a whisper. It still had that strange old radio speaker quality to it as well.

"What's wrong?"

Kate sighed, and started towards the kitchen, trusting him to follow. As she poured herself a glass of wine, she informed her shadow about the 3XK case, and how Jerry Tyson had fooled them all.

"Kate," Castle's ghostly hand touched her shoulder, squeezing slightly as he worked on her tense muscles. "It wasn't your fault."

She bowed her head forward, releasing a breath, wanting to believe him. But she found it difficult. She should have seen through Jerry Tyson, known it was him all along. Rationally, Kate knew he was right, yet her guilt gnawed at her.

Throwing her head back, Kate downed the last of her glass of wine. "I don't want to talk about it," she said, shaking her head. "I… can we talk about something else?"

She was met with silence. A frown marred her brow.

"Castle?" she called out to the empty apartment. "You still there?"

The notebook on the countertop flipped open, and Kate shifted to lean against the breakfast bar, watching as the pen danced over the paper.

 _Always_ , his elegant handwriting read.

She smiled, approving of his word choice. It was then that she remembered her gift. Kate glanced down, a little hesitant and nervous.

The pen bounced around.

_What?_

"I saw your mother today," she confessed.

Nothing in response.

"You're not mad?" she asked, worrying her bottom lip.

The pen moved. _No_ , her shadow wrote. _I overreacted the last time. I'm sorry. I was just trying to protect her_.

"I understand," Kate bobbed her head. "Anyways, I went to see her about your book. I made up a story about finding it in the closet. And… she agreed with me."

_Agreed about what?_

She smiled softly, hoping he'd approved. "I'm going to get your book published."

A cold, icy wind howled around her, blowing her hair up wildly. Gooseflesh erupted on her arms, and her skin tingled with the static electricity filing the air in the room. Slowly, a form started to manifest before her. She narrowed her eyes, watching as hints of blue sparkled into existence, slowly taking shape. It wasn't long until Castle's handsome visage was floating before her. Soon, the rest of him appeared. It was like before, when he had revealed himself on the sofa. She could still see through him, yet he was there. He was solid, yet not solid. And a glowing blue aura haloed him, giving him a magnificent quality.

"Castle," she hissed, admonishing. "You can't keep materializing like this. I can't go days without you."

"You won't," he assured, smiling warmly, his eyes gleaming with love. "I'll always be here, Kate. Always."

He hovered towards her, opening his arms to envelope her in an embrace. She closed her eyes and ignored her own protests, resting her head on his phantom shoulder. He hugged her tightly, causing chills to run down her spine, but she didn't care.

"Thank you, Kate," he murmured. There was a hum to his words, like he was filled with happiness.

"So you approve?" she asked, somewhat timidly, still worried she'd crossed some imaginary line that she wasn't supposed to.

"Wholeheartedly," Castle assured.

Kate's answering smile was a beam. It shone brightly, and her eyes crinkled with her joy. The anguish of the case faded, and she was surrounded by the warmth of Castle's love. She tilted her head up and he dipped his down, meeting her with a toe curling kiss. Her lips tingled with it, and her skin crawled with the peculiar ethereal energy the surrounded him.

It was still a strange sensation, feeling him like this. He was there, but wasn't. His solid form was only finite. But as he embraced her, worshiped her with his mouth, Kate found that in that moment, she couldn't care less about the odd nature of their relationship. Because it was everything to her.


	14. Phantom Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Just a heads up, the last part of this chapter straddles the line between T and M, but I think it's vague enough to keep the whole fic at a T rating.

Kate hated Halloween. For a cop, it was one of the busiest nights of the year. Something about the holiday just brought out all the crazies. She could still remember the hectic mayhem during her rookie days. It was something of a rite of passage. She hadn't been prepared for it. The intensity of it had been overwhelming. Yet she made it through it unscathed. A few bumps and bruises, yes, from some wrestling drunken idiots into the cells, but otherwise it was fine. Booking was always filled to capacity. Most of them were minor misdemeanors, nothing serious. But it kept her busy. She would be exhausted by the end of her shift, and would simply crawl into bed once she got home.

This particular Halloween was no different. As per usual, Kate pulled a double shift. She was used to it by now. Ryan, however, was not. This wasn't his first Halloween shift, but it was the first time he'd pulled a double shift alongside his colleagues. Esposito munched on a Snickers bar and teased him relentlessly. Ryan was just happy that he'd had Jenny waiting for him when he got home.

He had recently proposed, in the precinct no less. Kate's heart had warmed with the sight of the younger detective kneeling down in front of the petite blonde, asking her to marry him. It stirred long suppressed yearnings. Kate tried to stifle them, but they surface nonetheless. She had never thought of herself as an overly romantic person, but now that she had a certain ruggedly handsome ghost haunting her, Kate could understand those longings a little better.

By the end of her double shift, Kate was exhausted. She had to deal with several drunken idiots, and one deranged guy that was messing around with an old woman's pet black cat. She felt sorry for the little feline. Some people were just cruel to them on Halloween. It was stupid superstitious nonsense, and yet for some absurd reason it continued into the modern day.

Kate arrived home late, long past midnight. She switched on the lights and closed the door behind her. Dropping her bag, Kate peeled off her Burberry overcoat and turned to put it on the coatrack, but stopped mid-motion, letting the garment fall to the floor when she saw her living room. Her mouth dropped and she stepped forward, completely stunned.

Every flat surface was covered in flickering candles. Rose petals littered the floor, trailing from the entryway to through the living room and towards the office. Kate mindlessly followed the path, slowly pirouetting as she walked, gazing out at the sea of dancing light. It was magical. But it was also a fire hazard, her rational brain rioted, refusing to be lulled by this clearly romantic gesture. She chewed on her lower lip as she made her way to the home office, wondering just what her ghostly housemate had been up to in his daily hauntings.

Kate found him in her office, sitting in her comfy reading chair, an opened book in his hands. She stopped in the threshold, shivering as the room temperature dipped. Her breath fogged before her as her mouth went agape at what she saw. He wasn't quite all there, but it was different than it usually was. His flesh had a warmer, more natural look to it. She could still see through him. The normal translucency of his form wasn't as severe. A glowing blue aura still surrounded him. But he appeared more solid. More real.

"Castle?" she gasped.

His eyes flirted up to her, and he smiled. He closed the book he'd been reading and stood up, actually walking it over to the shelf and returning it to its spot.

"Good evening, Kate," he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Her eyes grew wide in astonishment. The rich baritone of his voice was much clearer. It wasn't like she was listening to it filtered through the old speaker of a radio.

She stammered for a second, utterly dumbstruck by the change in his usual appearance. Her shadow was rarely so… corporeal. It took a lot to wrap her head around what she was witnessing. Castle turned back around to face her, quirking up his lips in amusement.

"You okay there, Kate?" he questioned.

"I… um… how?" her brows knitted together and her face scrunched up in confusion.

"It's All Hallows' Eve," he explained as if it was obvious. After receiving a blank look from her, he shrugged his shoulders and went on. "Don't ask me how I know, but for some reason, I'm able to materialize more fully into this realm. It's like the barrier between our two planes of existence is somehow lessened tonight."

Kate shook her head and smiled. "I don't care how or why, I'm just so glad you're here."

"So am I," Castle said, immediately striding for her.

He enveloped her in his arms, and she cried with joy at how real and solid he felt under her hands. He was still as cold as the dead, but the rest of him felt so very real. She could touch him, and feel him. His cool breath danced across her cheeks as he dipped his head down to capture her mouth in a soaring kiss.

Kate went limp, canting into him, meeting his passionate embrace with all she had. It was unlike any kiss they'd shared before. Her eyes closed as she moaned, granting him entrance to her mouth. His tongue entered, and she moaned all the more at the rioting battle between the chill of his ghostly presence and the warmth of her living body. It was all so surreal, but Kate wasn't going to fight it. Not when she finally could touch him as she wanted.

Pulling back for air, Kate gulped down deep breaths, feeling her body warm with want. She glanced up at him from under her eyelashes. Silently asking a question she'd never thought she have to ask.

He rested his forehead against hers and a chill danced down her spine, contradicting the warmth pooling in her center. Her breath mingled with the ethereal ether that he expelled, and she closed her eyes, relishing their closeness.

"Yes," he answered at length. "Tonight, I think we can."

"Are you sure?" she questioned, desperately wanting it, to feel him in all the ways that had been denied her.

"There's only one way to see," Castle declared, hooking his arm under her legs and sweeping her up off the floor.

Kate laughed— _no giggled_ —she actually giggled in delight. Her cheeks flushed a bright shade of pink. Castle smirked, waggling his eyebrows, as he carried her across the threshold and into her bedroom. He gently laid her down, and hovered over her. She eased back into the soft mattress and stared up at him, no longer bothering to hide her clear and obvious desire.

"What do you want, Kate?" he asked.

"You," she answered. "Oh, Castle… I just want you."

Castle gave her a beaming smile in return. It was beautiful. He was beautiful. The room was cold, but she was warm. He leaned down over her and kissed her, long and deep. Kate shivered, feeling her body come alive with feelings and sensations she hadn't felt in so very long. Castle slowly stripped her of her clothes until she was completely bare and exposed before him, pressing ghostly kisses down her neck and along her collarbones, leaving gooseflesh in his wake.

She tugged at his hair, actually feeling the strands beneath her fingertips. It was wonderful. Kate dragged him back up for another kiss.

Castle worked his hands down her undulating body, cupping her breasts, teasing her nipples, before smoothing his hand down her flat stomach, trailing goosebumps along his path. She gasped and hissed at the conflicting sensations of hot and cold. It was amazing. One hand slipped between her legs and she gasped, her mouth dropping down in a low moan as she felt his cold ethereal touch where she wanted him most.

"Is this real?" she asked, staring up at him in wonder.

"Yes, it is," he whispered, his phantasmal breath sent a shiver down her spine.

He pulled back, hovering above her. Kate's eyes grew wide as she gazed up at him, noticing just now that he was as naked as she was. Her eyes roamed over his ethereal body, memorizing it. He still glowed a pale blue, and was mildly translucent, but besides that, he felt as real and solid as any other man she'd been with, maybe even more so because of how she felt about him.

Kate bit her lower lip, momentarily pondering just how utterly insane this whole situation was. She was lying, naked in her bed, with a ghost primed to make love to her. If this was what insanity was like, then she'd take it.

"Castle," she pleaded, arching her hips up, demanding, wanting.

Castle smoothed his hands down her sides. Gooseflesh erupted all over her body and she mewled softly with need, feeling her core blossom with wanton heat.

"You're extraordinary, Kate Beckett," Castle hummed, gently coaxing her legs apart.

His spectral body moved over her, nestling in the cradle of her hips. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and her nipples harden from the ghostly chill in the air. Castle caressed the side of her face, brushing her hair back behind her ear. He bent down and kissed her softly, lovingly. His glowing blue eyes sought out hers, seeking permission. She bit her lower lip, and inclined her head in consent.

Without further preamble, he was inside. She moaned. It was an odd sensation, different than with a living man. He was inside her, yet he wasn't. It was hard to describe. But he filled her just right, just how she wanted him to. It was, for the lack of a better word, perfect.

Kate groaned, pushing up into him, rolling her hips until she had all of him. The contrast between heat and cold was invigorating, setting her insides aflame. It was the single most extraordinary moment in her life.

"I love you," she cried out, finally giving voice to her feelings, which she was unable to suppress now that they were connected in the most intimate of ways.

Castle paused above her, staring down at her with such awe and adoration, Kate wanted to weep.

"I love you, too, Kate," he answered. "Always."

And then, the ghost of Richard Castle made love to Detective Kate Beckett.


	15. The Scare

Kate Beckett was living in a happy bubble ever since Halloween. Her colleagues at work were the first to notice, as it was customary for Detective Beckett to be in an ill-temper after pulling a double shift. Yet, her general attitude was much more pleasant than usual. And she seemed to be smiling a lot more often. She also hadn't snapped at Ryan or Esposito in days, and even though they appreciated the change, it worried them. But, they weren't brave enough to confront Kate about it. So, of course, they asked Lanie—or more specifically, Esposito asked his girlfriend—to find out what had morphed the usually surly detective into a beam of utter happiness.

A new case dropped soon enough, and the matter was forgotten, at least for a while. Kate was pleased with this, as she didn't like it when her friends were all nosy when it came to her personal affairs. She liked to keep her private life… private. Her best friend was the only one that would normally get all the juicy details, but considering the supernatural nature of her current romance, Kate preferred not to share. Which, needless to say, irritated the gossip hungry medical examiner.

After going over the prelim reports of the crime scene with Esposito and Ryan in the bullpen, and putting together the beginnings of the murder board, Kate made her way down to the morgue to meet with Lanie and see if the autopsy had brought up any new evidence that could help shed some light on who might have killed the victim.

"Well, it wasn't a mugging, I can tell you that," Lanie announced when Kate entered the room.

She shivered from the chill in the air. The morgue was always cold. Unfortunately, thanks to her ghostly lover, Kate had started having a new reaction to cool breezes, and she bit her lower lip to try and suppress the rush of heat to her core. Working around it, Kate narrowed her eyes and focused on the job, striding over to join the medical examiner by the autopsy slab.

"How can you tell?" she asked, pleased with the control she had over her voice.

Lanie appraised her with a curious tilt of her head, but made no comment. "Blood splatter on her blouse indicates that it was ripped after the gunshot."

"And what of the bruising?" Kate question, knitted her eyebrows together as she started down at the body on the table, trying to see if she could spot any clues herself.

"Post mortem," Lanie answered.

Kate nodded, following the reasoning. "To make it look like a mugging."

Lanie hummed in agreement. "Someone's trying to cover their tracks. Speaking of which, I figured out what's different about you."

Kate's eyes jerked up to meet hers.

"You're having sex," Lanie declared, waving a finger at her.

"Um… excuse me?" she said, furrowing her brow, having not expected this change in topic.

"Oh, don't try to deny it," Lanie huffed, flashing an annoyed look in her direction. "There's a glow. I know that glow."

Kate swallowed, trying to think of a way out of this.

"So," Lanie continued, undaunted by her friend's mute response. "Who's the guy?"

Knowing it was futile to resist when it came to Lanie, Kate sighed and scraped her fingers through her hair, blowing out a hot breath of air as she relented under the pressure of her friend's eager gaze. "All right, fine. You've got me. I'm having sex."

"That's great, girl!" Lanie squealed, clapping her hands excitedly. Kate rolled her eyes. What were they… teenagers? Lanie wasn't done, however, always hoping for juicy details. "Great sex?"

"Yes, _amazing_ sex… so amazing" Kate said after a brief pause, allowing herself a wide smile. "And no, I doubt you'd know the guy, okay?"

"Are you sure?" Lanie pressed, winking knowingly. "I know a lot of guys."

"I'm sure," she answered, her tone both final and amused. "Now, anything else on our victim."

Seemingly satisfied with getting Kate to admit what she did, Lanie was apparently willing to let it go, for the moment, at least. Much to Kate's relief, the rest of their discussion was case related. However, before Kate could leave, Lanie grabbed her by the arm and promised that she'd get her to spill all the juicy details sometime in the not too distance future. Kate pursed her lips and bobbed her head, not at all surprised by this pledge, and then made her exit, heart pounding a mile a minute wondering just how she'd explain things to her best friend. She'd definitely need to pick Castle's unique writer's brain for some possible scenarios that would sound plausible to Lanie's insatiable curiosity.

She spent the rest of the day focusing on the case. Once the trace evidence came back, she had enough to bring in the victim's boyfriend for questioning. She sent Esposito and Ryan out to pick him up while she prepped for interrogation. If they were lucky they might just wrap this case up quickly. The boys had just returned and deposited the boyfriend in the box when her cellphone rang. She was surprised by the caller, former Detective John Raglan. He had been the lead investigator on her mother's homicide case twelve years ago.

She remembered him well.

He was the one who'd eventually ruled it a case of random gang violence. When she'd first join the force, and had managed to sneak into the archives after a late nightshift, Kate had had a look at her mother's file. This was back when her obsession had completely reigned her world. There had to be more to the case. She had been disappointed in Raglan then. The guy could have done a lot better job than he had.

Raglan wanted to meet for coffee. He claimed that there was something about her mother's case he needed to tell her, something he couldn't say over the phone. Kate agreed, not sure why. She didn't really think highly of him as a cop, but he had still been the lead investigator all those years ago. If he now had something that might help further along her own quiet investigation, then she would listen.

An hour later, Kate arrived at the coffee shop on Fourth and Main. Raglan was already there, sitting in a window booth, nursing a cup of coffee. She swiftly sat down across from him, and rebuffed his attempts at small talk.

"Tell me what I don't know about my mom's murder," she said, not even bothering to hide her irritation with him.

Raglan just played with the ceramic coffee mug in his hands, bemoaning the hustle and bustle of the modern world, and how no one seemed capable of slowing down for just a second to relish the little things, like how the ceramic warmed his hands. He then revealed he had been diagnosed with lymphoma and told he had six months left to live. Kate offered her apologies, it was the polite thing to do, but to be honest, she really didn't have any sympathy for this poor excuse of a cop.

After beating around the bushes for a few minutes, Raglan finally got to the crux of what had made him call her that evening.

"I hid a lot of sins behind my badge, and now I gotta carry 'em. But your mother's case, that one weighs a ton," he wheezed.

"Why?" Kate asked, annoyed. "Because you wrote it off as random gang violence when you knew it wasn't?"

He stared at her, blinking slowly. "Look, lady, I did what I was told. And I kept quiet because I was afraid. About a year ago there was a hostage standoff at your precinct. You killed a hitman named Dick Coonan. It was a big deal in the paper. People noticed."

Kate leaned forward, narrowing her eyes. "Who hired Coonan to kill my mom?"

Raglan shook his head, like she was just some naïve rookie at her first day on the job. "You need some context here," he insisted. "This thing started about nineteen years ago, back before I even knew who Johanna Beckett was. Nineteen years ago, I made a bad mistake. And that started the dominoes falling, and one of them was your mother." He paused to take a sip of his coffee. "The night I caught her case, I was approached by—"

But he never finished the sentence. Shots came through the window, shattering the glass, impacting in Raglan's chest, ending his confession. Kate dove for cover, just before the gunfire could sweep her way. It was over in a matter of seconds.

Captain Montgomery showed up on scene twenty minutes later, rebuked her for not looping him in on Raglan's call, and then promptly sent her home, benching her. But Kate wouldn't have that. She investigated anyway. Yes, she went home, ate a quick meal, and discussed the day's events with Castle via their notebook communications, but she didn't back down. She would not be sidelined on this case.

Thankfully, Ryan and Esposito had her back. They worked quickly to track down the assassin to a building in the warehouse district. It was a guy named Hal Lockwood. He had some goons with him too. The boys went in first, and when they didn't come out, Kate had to act. She went after them, using her feminine wiles on the guard before knocking him out. A smirk touched her lips as she stood over the unconscious guard. She'd need to remember to tell Castle about it. Maybe there was a little more Nikki Heat in her than she thought.

Sneaking inside, she found Ryan and Esposito being tortured by the thugs. The mother bear in her activated, and she went on the attack. She took down two without a sweat, but the third was tougher, distracting her enough for Lockwood to take a shot at her. She managed to duck at the last minute, but it had been a close call. Esposito was able to free himself from his restraints and he tackled the bastard, knocking his lights out with a right-handed punch to the jaw.

Kate called in backup, and when Montgomery arrived, he lectured her on going rogue, but, nonetheless, congratulated her on capturing the assassin. He gave her the weekend off, and Kate took it without complaint, spending a relaxing evening in bed with Castle, the play of his phantom hands over her bare skin helping her forget her troubles. For a ghost, he really was skilled with his hands.

It was two weeks later—a little over three weeks since Halloween night—that Kate suddenly realized she was late. Her heart pumped wildly under her breast, and her hands started to shake. Castle, the ever-vigilant spirit that he was, noticed immediately. He abandoned his work in the kitchen and the air around her whirled and dropped in temperature. His ghostly hands touched her shoulders, and he worked on her tense muscles.

"What's wrong?" his phantom voice whispered in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. Despite her sudden panic, the rich baritone of voice caused her center to heat with want.

"I'm late," she announced, voice quivering with confusion and mild terror.

"Dinner will keep, I can reheat it when you get back," Castle replied.

"No," she shook her head, jumping off the stool, tears threatening. "You don't understand, Rick!"

The room temperature dropped even further, and Kate's panicked breath fogged before her face. A chill ran down her back, and gooseflesh erupted up and down her bare arms. The atmosphere snapped with energy, like before a lightning storm, and soon her spectral lover materialized in front of her, bathed in a pale blue aura.

"Kate, what's the matter?" he soothed, floating towards her and taking her into his ethereal embrace. She went willingly resting her head against his cool shoulder. "Talk to me."

She sniffled. "I've missed my period, Rick," she admitted, pulling back to look at him. "I… I don't understand? How can that be—? It shouldn't be possible. I mean… you're a ghost. I can't… I just can't be… Oh God, I'm so afraid."

Castle's brows furrowed together as he tried to make sense of her ramblings. When it finally dawned on him and his chest expanded as if he was taking in a deep breath, which he didn't need, since he was a ghost. He squinted in thought, humming softly as he tried to calm her, gently caressing the back of her head.

"You've had a lot of stress over the last couple of weeks, Kate," he tried to reassure her. "It could be that, couldn't it? But if you really worried, then perhaps you should get a test."

She nodded, taking what he said and hoping. He had to be right, because the opposite was just impossible. Kate Beckett could not be pregnant.


	16. The Uncertainty

The following morning, Kate stopped by the drugstore on her way to work. She ignored the judgmental look the sales clerk gave her when she bought a total of nine pregnancy tests from three different brands. Stuffing them in her bag, Kate went to the precinct, and lost herself in the mindlessness of paperwork. It was busy work, keeping her numb and occupied for the rest of the day.

A case dropped in the late afternoon, and being the dedicated detective that she was, Kate focused all her attention and energy on investigating as much of it as she could until it got too late to do anything but wait. Dragging herself away from the murder board, Kate made her way home that evening. Wanting to delay the inevitable, she chose to take the subway instead of hailing a cab. She sat on the uncomfortable hard plastic seat, numbly staring out at nothing, the weight of the possibilities pressing down on her.

It was well after midnight when Kate finally arrived at her apartment. The moment she stepped across the threshold, she felt the cool brush of wind that signaled the presence of her ghostly lover. She closed the door behind her on a sigh. She shivered when she felt his touch. His invisible hands reached up to help her out of her coat. She absently turned her head and watched as the fashionable overcoat floated over to the coatrack. The magic of the supernatural spectacle had worn off for her. It was just something she was now used to.

She sighed when she felt the brush of Castle's hand down her back as his ghostly lips brushed hers in a phantom kiss. Her spine arched into the motion of his hand, and she leaned into his touch, shivering as the trail of his fingers left gooseflesh in their wake. Still somewhat out of it from all the worrying and the long workday, Kate allowed Castle to guide her to the sofa. She unceremoniously plopped down, reclining back into the comfy cushions.

The wind whirled around her, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as Richard Castle's ethereal form slowly began to coalesce next to her. She stared at him, paralyzed by the uncertainty and worry that infested her brain.

His glowing blue hand moved to gently rub her knee in sympathy and support. "How are you, Kate?" he questioned, the air buzzing with the strange energy of his supernatural manifestation.

She didn't answer him, instead just asking for water. The wind swirled with a cold chilly as he moved into the kitchen. Kate blinked lazily, watching from her relaxed position on the sofa as the cabinet door opened itself and a glass floated out, hovering over the countertop as the Brita pitcher flew up and water gradually poured out of it filling the empty glass.

A dramatic drop in room temperature accompanied Castle's return to her side. The cushion beside her on the sofa dipped as he sat down. He offered her the glass. She slowly sat up and accepted it, taking a tentative sip, before chugging the rest of it down. Swallowing the last of it, Kate promptly asked for another. Castle refilled the glass and returned, only for her to repeat the process once again. She did this three more times, before stopping, and leaning back in the cushions.

"Kate? What can I do?" Castle asked, his ethereal form gazing at her with concern.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. There really wasn't much he could do. They were playing a waiting game now. "Just… just hold me."

Kate shifted on the sofa, stretching out as she made room for Castle to slide in behind her, engulfing her in his cool embrace. Her skin came alive with gooseflesh. A chill ran down her spine as she relaxed back into his ghostly chest, closing her eyes as she released a breath, feeling the calming influence of his presence overtake her. His spectral arms hugged her close, and she felt the whisper of a kiss on top of her head. She smiled softly. She could always count on him to provide the comfort she needed.

They stayed that way for an hour or so, Castle slowly winking out of the visual spectrum, yet his invisible form remained coldly solid behind her, supporting. Soon natured started to call, and Kate stood up, gradually removing herself from his loving embrace. She bent down to collect her bag, brushing her hair back as she sighed in uncertainty.

"Wait here, please," she meekly pleaded, wanting to be alone. Afterwards, she would come to him when she had the results.

Kate retreated to the bathroom and removed the multiple pregnancy tests from her bag. She chewed on her bottom lips as she ripped opened the packaging. And then she did the necessary indignity with each of the nine tests she'd bought. In the past, when she'd had a scare—which wasn't too often, she'd always been careful—three tests would have sufficed, but this was a unique situation, and Kate didn't want to leave any room for error.

The spirit of her lover was waiting for her right where she'd left him. The air in the living room hummed with supernatural energy as he slowly formed before her, as always shrouded in a blue aura. His ethereal blue eyes scanned her as she approached. He didn't push, but rather waited her out, allowing her to reveal the news at her own time. It was one of the things she loved most about him. He knew not went to put pressure on her. And this was one of those times. She had to do it her way.

"Positive," she choked out. "And negative."

The wisps of supernatural energy around Castle swirled around as he frowned in confusion. "I don't understand."

"The tests were inconclusive," Kate explained. "Four positives, and five negatives."

"What are you going to do now?" he questioned.

Kate shrugged helplessly. "I guess make an appointment with my doctor."

And she did so the following day. The rest of the week was a blur. The case didn't hold her attention like it should, but she did her job. She found justice for the victim and their loved ones, nailing the killer during interrogation, getting him to confess to everything. At the end of the week, she backed out of a girls' night out with Lanie, not really in the mood to party, and spent all of Friday night at home, cuddled up on the sofa with Castle, binge watching _Nebula 9_. He really wasn't a fan, so she was grateful that he didn't mess around with the entertainment center like he had before when all he was doing was haunting her. When she retired to bed after the marathon, Kate asked Castle to make love to her. She knew it wouldn't be like it was on Halloween, but she needed to feel close to him.

Having spent a lot of energy materializing over the week, Castle was unable to maintain a visual appearance. But his phantom hands roamed her body, touching her in all the right places, sending shivers down her spine and causing gooseflesh to erupt all over her body. He took his time, distracting her with his devilishly skilled fingers, before entering her. She moaned, clutching at shadows. To an outsider, the scene would have looked very strange indeed. She laid naked on her bed, writhing and undulating in time with the invisible thrusts of her ghostly lover. Kate cried his name when she reached completion. In the afterglow, Castle cradled her in the oxymoronic warmth of his cool embrace.

In the morning, Kate made her way to her doctor's office. She had never outright lied to her doctor before, as she always wanted to be honest when it came to her health, but this time was different. She couldn't very well inform her doctor that she might be carrying the spawn of a ghost. If she wasn't so freaked out over this, she might have found it funny.

Kate had known Dr. Raina Palmer for nearly a decade, having started with her not long after she moved back from Stanford to attend college at NYU after her mother's death. She trusted her, and knew she wouldn't pry unless it was absolutely necessary for her health. So, Kate told Dr. Palmer enough of what she suspected, omitting the supernatural elements. Going with the tale she and her shadow had come up with, Castle turned into a guy named Steve she'd met at a bar and had a one night stand with. Along with the story they'd constructed, she didn't know his last name, nor did she have his phone number.

And just like Kate had hoped, Dr. Palmer didn't judge. She just nodded and listened, understanding Kate's concerns with the conflicting results of the home pregnancy tests she had taken last night. The doctor ran her own tests, and ask if Kate was willing to wait to find out the results. Dr. Palmer was well aware of Kate's busy work schedule and had always been tremendously understanding. However, this time Kate had taken the weekend off, so she had no need to rush off, per usual. So, Kate waited patiently, flipping through magazines and playing on her phone.

When the tests came in, Dr. Palmer called Kate into her office. This had her anxiety levels rising to phenomenal heights. She sat down in the chair, fidgeting with nervous energy. The doctor started off with an apology, explaining that something must have gone wrong in the lab, because the tests were inconclusive, giving mixed results. However, in her professional opinion, Dr. Palmer didn't believe Kate was pregnant, but informed her that there was always a chance—no matter how small—that she could be. They would just have to wait and see.

Kate didn't understand. Why couldn't the universe give her a straight answer?

That night, she cried herself to sleep, unable even to find solace in the arms of her phantasmal lover. Castle tried his best to soothe her, but nothing worked. She was too wired with worry and stress that she couldn't find the calm. It was very reminiscent to the period in her life right after her mother's death.

Kate didn't know what to do. Unfortunately, she was quite literally in uncharted territory. She supposed she would just have to do as Dr. Raina Palmer suggested, and wait. Problem was, Kate Beckett was never very good at waiting.


	17. Answers

Kate Beckett was known for burying her feelings in her work. It was what she had done in the past when she was faced with disappointment and heartbreak. First, she'd done so because of her obsession with her mother's case. Then it was because of Mike Royce's sudden retirement. And when Will left for Boston, she had focused all her attention on the job, letting it distract her from the heartache of him making assumptions without even thinking of including her in the decision-making process. It was what she did. But it was different now. She couldn't just bury the current issue deep down inside and simply ignore it. This situation had real ramifications that could affect not just her work, but her life.

She needed someone to talk to. But it couldn't be Lanie. That would involve answering a number of questions that Kate just did not want to answer. Nor could it be Castle. Though he was obviously involved, he was a ghost. And he was a man. Not matter how much he understood and sympathized with her, he could never truly understand what it was she was going through.

There was only one person Kate could think of that might be able to be a sounding board and not think she was crazy.

During her lunch break, Kate made her way out of the Twelfth Precinct and walked to a nearby café, where she was greeted by Penny Marchand. The young woman hadn't been too surprised when Kate had called her, asking to meet for lunch, saying that she had had dreams as of late that had involved the detective. Penny's mother, Vivien, had been a medium, and Kate had met the young woman during her investigation into Vivien Marchand's murder. It had been then that Penny had revealed that she had shared similar abilities with her mother, though hers centered more on meaningful dreams.

"Thank you for meeting me, Miss Marchand," Kate said, sliding into the seat across from the brunette.

"Please, call me, Penny," she said with a bright smile. "As I said on the phone, I knew we'd meet again."

"Yes," Kate nodded, still somewhat skeptical, despite everything that had happened to her since she'd moved into the loft on Broome Street. She really should be more of a believer in paranormal activities, considering her personal experiences with her ghostly lover, but Kate just wasn't built that way. She needed proof, backed up by evidence.

Penny smiled again, a little amused at Kate's obvious doubt. "It's okay, Kate," she said, reaching over to pat her hand. "You don't have to believe."

Kate stammered, not knowing how to respond. She didn't want to offend the young woman and thus lose her only hope at discovering what was happening with her. However, before she could find her words, the waitress came over to take their orders. Kate quickly scanned the menu and made her selection. After the waitress departed, she and Penny sat in a lingering silence. Kate breathed in deeply, not knowing where to start.

"You've been intimate with a ghost," Penny smirked, breaking the silence.

Kate gasped softly, her mouth bobbing up and down as she tried to form a reply. "How… how did you know?" she finally managed to ask, still stunned at Penny's correct perception. Perhaps there was something to all this psychic nonsense after all.

The woman shrugged nonchalantly. "You have this glow about you," she answered. "Most people get it when they've been intimate with someone. But your glow is different. Most won't be able to see it, but with my abilities, I can."

"What can you see?"

Penny leaned forward. "There's this ever so faint blue aura around you."

So, Castle really was rubbing off on her, Kate bemusedly thought. Oh, he'd love that. Since the ice had been broken, Kate told Penny everything about the haunting of her apartment, from the initial encounters to Halloween night. She had to pause in her tale when the waitress arrived with their meals. As Penny sipped her soup, Kate stabbed at her salad, debating how to reveal the latest developments.

She finally got up the nerve and told Penny about the recent uncertainties.

"Oh, you're not pregnant," Penny stated with a nod, confident in her assertion.

"How can you know?" Kate demanded. "And please, don't say it was because of a dream."

Penny laughed, taking no offense. "Your lover is a ghost, Kate," she said as if the answer was obvious.

"Then explain the conflicting pregnancy tests!" she insisted, brow furrowed in confusion.

"Perhaps your ghost simply left some residual ectoplasm behind," Penny shrugged. "Plus, and I know you didn't want me to say this, but yes, I had a dream. I bet if you took a test again, it a week or so, it would come back negative."

Kate growled, growing aggravated. She leaned forward, narrowing her eyes. "And what of the fact that I haven't had my period yet?" she questioned in a low hiss.

"That I can't explain," Penny admitted. "It could be a side effect of your coupling with this apparition of ours. But honestly, I don't know. This is all so new to me. I only just started researching known hauntings after I had my dream last week and knew you'd need some help." She reached forward to give Kate's hand a comforting squeeze. "Give it time, Detective, I'm sure everything will right itself soon enough. Just… um… in the meantime, maybe hold off on intercourse with your ghost. Okay?"

Kate nodded, part of her stunned that she was even having a conversation like this. Lanie would have freaked. Penny was definitely the better option. She seemed to understand, and was able to give her some answers. Kate could only hope that the young woman was correct in her assertions. She seemed confident enough, but even she had admitted all this was new to her. So, Kate would just have to suffer through some more waiting.

She returned to work, and focused on their current case, needing the distraction, though her worries were difficult to suppress. The boys noticed her mind was elsewhere, but thankfully made no comment. Later that night, she sat at the island counter and filled Castle in on her conversation with Penny as he prepared her a small evening meal. For the first time, he voiced his own feelings on the subject, having previously remained silent in deference to comforting her. Her shadow doubted she was pregnant, even though in life, he admitted, he had often been inclined to believe such outlandish theories.

This made Kate feel better. She started to think that perhaps it was what Penny had suggested, a side effect of their unprecedented intimacies that had messed with her system. Castle did find it amusing, though, that Penny thought he'd left some residual ectoplasm behind.

"I guess I really did rub off on you?" he joked, earning an eye roll from Kate, even if it did make her smirk just a little. He was always able to lighten the mood. And that was one of the things she loved about him.

While Castle cleaned up the kitchen, Kate took a nice long soak in the bathtub, letting the warm water calm the last vestiges of her rattled nerves and anxieties. She went to bed that night feeling much better than she had for the past week.

As she rested her head against the pillow, a shiver ran down her spine and smile touched her lips as she felt the other side of the bed dip down as Castle joined her. She could feel the electric snap of the supernatural energy as he drew closer. Arching her neck, she glanced up and saw his ethereal form hovering above her, his blue eyes shining with love.

"I love you, Kate," he said earnestly, moving one hand to tenderly caress her shoulder. "No matter what. Always."

She smiled up at him, and echoed his sentiment. "Always."

The following morning, Kate experienced some mild cramps after breakfast. She didn't think much about it, still somewhat distracted by all the thoughts running through her head that had been generated by her conversation with Penny Marchand. She really hoped the young woman was correct in her assertions.

Kate went to work that day like everything was normal. Her colleagues noted her improved mood, but, like before, wisely did not comment on it. By the late afternoon, Kate remembered her stomach cramps, and what they had often preceded in the past. She went to the bathroom to make sure, and yes, she was right, she was finally having her period. She called her doctor, informing her of the development. Dr. Raina Palmer still wanted to see her again, to make sure, but she agreed with Kate that this probably did provide them with the answers as to her present condition.

On her way home that evening, Kate stopped by the drugstore and bought three pregnancy tests. The clerk—the same as before—gave her a look, and Kate simply glared back, shaming her for being so judgmental.

She shivered upon entering the loft, finding Castle's spectral form on the sofa with her laptop, typing away. Over the last two weeks, he'd been busying himself with writing a follow up to _Heat Wave_ , which was in the final stages of publishing. According to Martha Rodgers, who had kept in touch with Kate since their meeting, it wouldn't be long now until Black Pawn made the official announcement. Of course, rumors were already circulating on the Richard Castle fan forums about a lost manuscript.

"Hey, babe," Kate called, testing out a new nickname for her ghostly lover. Castle's gaze jerked up and he beamed, clearly hearing her term of endearment and approving.

"Welcome home, gorgeous," Castle waggled his eyebrows, getting up from his spot on the couch and floating over to her to offer her a kiss in greeting.

Kate's arms erupted in gooseflesh when he pulled back, and she shivered as the temperature drastically dropped. She opened up her bag and showed him the home pregnancy tests, informing him that she needed to test Penny's theory even though her period had just started this afternoon. He nodded, understanding her desire for certainty considering the bizarre circumstances. He made to move back to the sofa, willing to give her privacy, but this time Kate asked him to come with her. She didn't want to be alone, and besides this involved him as much as her.

The bathroom ensuite was illuminated in the blue glow from the aura that surrounded Castle's phantasmal form as he floated by the door, silently giving her support by just his presence. Kate ripped apart the packaging and did the necessary indignities, and then, while she waited for the results, fell into Castle's cool embrace, finding all the comfort she needed.

Her phone binged when the timer was up and Kate tentatively checked the test. She was surprised when a sudden feeling of disappointment overtook her when they all came up negative. She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but the sudden emptiness felt strange. She had expected relief, but not this.

"Well?" Castle's rich baritone buzzed through the air, sounding like it came through some old-time radio speaker.

"Penny was right," Kate said. She'd still check with her doctor to make sure, but she was feeling more certain that she wasn't pregnant. Kate now believed everything that had happened was the result of a collision of numerous factors that followed the singularly unique and supernatural form of intimacy she had shared with Castle on Halloween night.

"And is that good?" Castle asked, watching her with concerned eyes.

Kate shrugged, not sure how to respond. She fell back into his arms, closing her eyes as she rested her head against his cold chest, hearing no heartbeat, yet still finding reassurance and comfort. It had been a crazy few weeks, and Kate was looking forward to things returning to normal… well, as normal as things could get when her boyfriend was a ghost.

Castle brushed a whisper of a kiss against the top of her head and offered beautiful words of love. His declarations almost had her choking up with emotion. She couldn't really believe this was her life. Never in a million years would Kate have thought she'd fall in love with Richard Castle, let alone his ghost. She sighed, nuzzling further into his ethereal embrace.


	18. The Favor

Kate stumbled into the loft, nearly slamming the door behind as a gut-wrenching sob escaped her. She took two wobbly steps forward, before collapsing on her knees, surrendering to the heart stabbing grief that overcame her. She couldn't believe this was happening. It wasn't fair. Why did everyone she loved have to die? First her mother, and now him.

A cool wind howled around her, announcing the approach of her phantom companion. Her whole body shivered, even as she was racked with sorrow. The air in the room snapped static electricity as Castle's form materialized beside her on the floor. The blue aura that always surrounded him illuminated the foyer, making her tears glisten in the glow.

"Kate," he cooed softly, his voice scratchy and metallic, as if it was being filtered through several cheap speakers before reaching her ears. "What's the matter?"

She shook her head, sniffling and gasping for breath. Castle hovered closer, engulfing her in his ethereal embrace. She hiccupped and closed her eyes, letting her head fall against the chilly solidness of his shoulder. His phantom hands caressed her back, rubbing soothing patterns. Kate stayed in his embrace for a long time, allowing her grief out. She had been holding it in ever since the previous night, when dispatch had called her out to a scene.

Montgomery had already been there, immediately alerting her that something was wrong. It hadn't been until Lanie had stood up and looked at her with such sympathy in her eyes that Kate knew it wasn't good.

Eventually she stilled in his arms, finding a calm in the storm within the comfort of his cold, unearthly embrace. "Royce," she managed to push through the giant lump in her throat.

The air around them crackled with energy and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on head as gooseflesh erupted down her arms and legs. The glow aura around Castle shimmered and sparked as his brow lowered in displeasure. "What did he do now?" he all but growled, protective.

Kate shook her head, and sniffled. He didn't understand. "No," she mumbled. "Nothing like that. He… he's dead," she choked out. "Murdered." The tears flowed again.

Castle immediately softened, the glow around him returned to a steady hum, the fury and wrath dissipating as quickly as they arose. "I'm sorry," he soothed, caressing the back of her head and pressing a cool kiss to her temple. Her skin tingled were his lips had touched. She sighed and closed her eyes. "You loved him, didn't you?"

Her eyes shut up and she pulled back to look at Castle. How did he know? She hadn't told him that much. He knew Royce had been important to her because he had been the first to truly understand her drive to find her mother's killer. But she hadn't revealed the full truth of her feelings about her former training officer to her current lover.

"Rick… I…," she fumbled out, unsure what to say.

He shook his head. "You don't need to explain," he assured, moving a translucent hand up to wipe at the tears still adorning her cheeks.

She blinked lazily, and took a deep breath, before informing him about what they'd learned about the case, giving him every detail. The murder weapon had been a street gun, cheap and generic. Yet it had groves on the barrel, indicating the use of a silencer. With the boys, Kate had deduced that Royce's murder had to have followed him back to New York from Los Angeles, and as such couldn't bring his gun with him on the plane, so had needed to acquire the weapon here. They had then checked all flights between New York and LA, finding their man using the name of Robert De Niro's character from the movie _Heat_ as an alias.

"But before I could do anything more, Montgomery kicked me off the case," she growled, frustrated with her senior officer's decision to bench her. "I can't just sit around and do nothing, Castle. Mike Royce may have made mistakes, but he was still a good man. He deserves justice."

"Then go," Castle said, shocking her with his ferocity. "Do what you have to do." He paused, composing himself, the air buzzing with the supernatural energy of his manifestation. "But can I ask a favor."

"Of course," she replied immediately.

He ducked his head down, uncharacteristically timid for him. "When you're in Los Angeles, can you look in on Alexis?"

"Your daughter?"

He nodded. "When I died, Meredith, my ex-wife, got custody. I'd have preferred my mother, but she wasn't exactly financially stable at the time. I'd just like to—"

She shushed him quietly, reaching up to place her hands over his lips. Her fingertips tingled with the cool vibrancy of his spectral form. "No need to explain, Castle," she promised. "I'll check on her."

"Thank you," he said, gazing at her with complete adoration.

She offered him a small smile as her whole body shivered from the cold his close presence brought. "Always."

XXX

For some reason, it was odd being in another city. Kate had been to Los Angeles numerous times before, as well as the San Francisco Bay Area, since she had attended Stanford before her mother's death. But this time it was different. This time Kate was on the hunt for revenge.

Russell Ganz had killed Mike Royce, and she wanted to be the one to bring him in. She had to be careful, though, since she really didn't have jurisdiction in Los Angeles. She had a handful of run-ins with the local law enforcement, which resulted in Montgomery learning of her rogue investigation. He told her to stand down again, even though he knew she wouldn't.

She tried using her undeniable beauty to get Russell Ganz to lower his defenses by showing off her trim physique in a bathing suit alongside the hotel pool where Ganz did business, but he saw right through her, knowing immediately she was a cop. However, eventually he had him. She traced him to Santa Monica Pier, where a deal was going down, and she stopped it, made chased and finally had him cornered.

Kate could have killed him there. She wanted to kill him. But she didn't. Her better angels took over and she steadied her hand long enough for LAPD Detective Seeger to arrive with uniforms to place Ganz under arrest.

"He said something about hell raining down on me," Ganz grumbled as she slapped the cuffs on him. Detective Seeger was kind enough to let her do the honors. "I never imagine hell would look like you."

Kate gritted her teeth and glared at him. "Russell Ganz, you are under arrest for the murder of Michael Royce."

And then, without further ado, she handed him off to Seeger and his LAPD uniforms. Ganz called after her, goading her, but she ignored his taunts. She had got justice for Royce. That was all that mattered. Now she had another favor to fulfill.

XXX

She watched from her rental car as the high school students flooded out after the end of day bell rang. Her eyes scanned the clumps of groups, searching. And then she spotted her—a bright flash of red hair and alabaster skin. She was beautiful, yet her face held a perpetual look of sadness. Kate's heart went out to the teen. She knew exactly what it felt like.

Summoning up her nerves, Kate opened the car door and strolled across the street, weaving through the double-parked cars in the pickup area. Once on the sidewalk, she found Alexis standing alone under the shade of a tree, her textbooks clutched to her chest, eyes locked on the overgrown grass beneath her feet. Kate slowly made her way over to the girl.

"Alexis Castle?" she asked.

The girl's head jerked up and she stared at Kate with suspicion. Kate smiled softly, hoping to ease the teen's concerns that she was some obsessive Richard Castle fan stalking his teenage daughter.

"Hi, I'm Detective Kate Beckett," she greeted, holding up her badge.

Alexis glanced at it with a furrowed brow. "NYPD?" And then she became alarmed. "Did something happen to my grandma!?"

"No, no, nothing like that. Martha is fine," she assured the young woman.

"Oh good," Alexis sighed with relief. "Then, what are you doing here?"

Kate took in a deep breath before answering, wanting to be as honest as she could without further traumatizing the poor girl. "I knew your father," she said.

Alexis frowned as she gazed up at her. "I don't remember him mentioning a Detective Beckett. And sorry, but you're definitely not his type."

Kate couldn't help but smile at that, biting her lower lip as she ducked her head down for a brief moment. If only she knew. "We met briefly," she explained, which was the truth. She had only met Castle once when he was alive. "But he made a big impact."

"He had that effect on a lot of people, yes," the teen agreed with a solemn nod. She pursed her lips and shifted anxiously on her feet as she stared at Kate. "You said your name was Beckett?"

"Yes, Kate Beckett."

A glimmer of recognition flashed in the redhead's eyes, so similar to her father's and grandmother's. "You're the woman who moved into the loft," she exclaimed. "The one that found his manuscript!"

Kate nodded.

"My Grams adores you," she blurted out, then blushed.

"I'm fond of her as well," Kate answered, releasing a breath. "Look, I know this is odd, but would you like to go somewhere to talk."

"Talk?" repeated Alexis, looking confused. "About what?"

"Anything you like," Kate replied. "You see, it may not appear, but we have a lot in common."


	19. The Launch Party

She stared up at the large poster that dominated the center of the stage. It pictured a ruggedly handsome man with mischievous blue eyes that sparkled with zest and enthusiasm. He looked so full of life, fun and spontaneous, everything she had always suspected he'd been like when alive.

Kate sighed.

She wouldn't trade away what she had with her ghostly lover for anything in the world, but she often found herself wondering what might have been if she had brought him in for questioning when she'd picked up the Allison Tisdale case. Would he be alive now? Would they still have fallen in love? Kate liked to think so. She couldn't imagine any possible reality where she did not love Richard Castle.

A raucous laugh from a nearby group pulled Kate out of her thoughts. She glanced around, and frowned. She didn't want to be here. Chumming it up with publishing bigwigs, book reviewers, minor celebrities, and the higher-ups in the city government wasn't her cup of tea. She'd rather drink the disgusting coffee, which tasted like a monkey peed in battery acid, in the precinct break room for a whole year than socialize with any of these people. But Martha had pleaded with her to come, and Castle had been very enthused about her attending the book launch for _Heat Wave_.

"You're the inspiration!" he had said the previous night. "Of course you have to attend."

She had rolled her eyes and gave his spectral form a pointed look. "No one knows that, Rick," she had reminded him. "I'm just the woman who moved into your loft and found it. That's the story we decided on. Speaking of, how am I going to explain this new one?"

" _Naked Heat_?"

"Still not a fan of that title," she had grunted. "But, yes."

"Just say you were cleaning out your closet and found it in the back," he had suggested with a smirk.

Kate had rolled her eyes. "Really? That's the best you can come up with? It's exactly the same as what I used for _Heat Wave_."

Yet, despite her misgivings, no one questioned her explanation when she showed up at Black Pawn with another manuscript. They were thrilled, and had immediately began working in the revelation of a second book into the promotions and advertising for _Heat Wave_. Kate found it all a bit unsettling. As a detective, she was trained to look at everything with a critical eye. But it appeared that was different in other fields. Perhaps Black Pawn didn't care. As the old saying went, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Now Kate was at the _Heat Wave_ book launch party, feeling awkward and a little anti-social. She would much rather be back home in the loft, sipping some wine and relaxing in a hot bath with Castle. But, he had wanted her to attend, and she didn't want to disappoint him. Plus, Martha had hinted that she might have convinced Meredith to let Alexis fly in for the celebrations.

As if on cue, Kate spotted the two redheads. Here in New York, with her grandmother at her side, the teenage girl appeared revived. Her pale skin glowed with youthful energy and enthusiasm. She was smiling—no, scratch that—she was beaming. Alexis Castle appeared happier and more content in this book launch party with her grandmother than she had in Los Angeles. Kate now understood why Castle had wished his mother had received custody of his daughter.

"Detective Beckett, you're here!" grinned the young teen, rushing in to greet Kate with a fierce hug.

"Yes, I couldn't very well refuse your grandmother," Kate said, smiling towards the older woman. "Martha is quite persuasive. And, Alexis, please… call me Kate."

Alexis nodded, blushing slightly, but agreed. Kate could already tell that the young woman looked up to her. The three of them chatted for a bit, before Gina Cowell took the stage to make the announcements. Black Pawn had decided it would unveil the cover artwork for both Nikki Heat books at the same time, hoping the promise of a follow up would ignite even more excitement for the newly discovered Richard Castle manuscripts.

Kate believed all the hype was unnecessary. In her opinion, Castle's work spoke for itself. And while she wasn't thrilled with the name of either the character or the titles, Kate loved both books and the story her gorgeous ghostly man weaved together with his beautiful words. Knowing him as she did, Kate could tell that _Heat Wave_ and _Naked Heat_ were more than just mystery novels. In a way, those two books were love letters, written by Richard Castle to Kate Beckett.

After making a speech in which Gina took all the credit for the discovery of the manuscripts, the covers were finally revealed. Two curtains were drawn back on each side of the large poster, unveiling the artwork that would adorn Richard Castle's posthumous novels. One had a red and black motif, while the other had an orange and black color scheme. Both featured silhouettes of the heroine, Nikki Heat.

Applause and cheers erupted from the gathered audience, but Kate merely tilted her head as she stared up at the artwork, her eyebrows slowly knitting together. Was it just her, or did Nikki Heat appear to be naked? She ground her teeth and tried not to overreact. It wasn't like it was _her_ naked silhouette on display. Only the character was inspired by her. She hadn't been the model for the artwork. Black Pawn were the ones that selected the cover designs, and the only publishing representative Kate had any meetings with had been Gina Cowell. So, she shouldn't really overthink things. Those provocative covers had simply been designed to catch the eye. That was all. There was no other meaning behind it than that.

Kate drifted away from the hubbub, nodding to Martha and Alexis as she went to the bar, ordering a vodka martini. She gulped it down, relishing the burn as the alcohol slid down her throat. Furrowing her brow, she stared back, where Gina was welcoming Martha and Alexis to the stage. She watched them interact, clearly familiar with one another, after all, Gina had been married to Castle. She had been wife number two.

For the first time in a long while, Kate was surprised to be hit with what she could only describe as envy. Never in a million years would Kate ever think she wouldn't mind being wife number three, but with Castle, she actually wished she could be.

There were just so many things that they couldn't experience together because he was dead. Yes, they could talk, laugh, and have wonderful, mind-blowing, amazing sex, but beyond that there really wasn't much else they could do. Castle's spirit seemed to be confined to the loft. They couldn't travel, explore the world and all it had to offer together.

But most of all, which ached at her heart more than she had ever anticipated, was the fact they couldn't have children together. It was an odd feeling to have, especially considering her recent pregnancy scare. Kate had never considered herself a big baby person, nor had she ever contemplated having kids. But then again, she had never met the right man that she'd like to be the father. Not until Castle. Unfortunately, she just had to meet him after he'd died.

Kate sighed, and threw back her head, downing the last of her drink. She stared back out at the stage, watching as a shy Alexis approached the podium, with Martha's encouragement, to speak about her dad. Alexis was a wonderful young woman, and Kate wished she'd had the opportunity to witness the amazing father she suspected Castle must have been.

Perhaps it was for the best, Kate thought with a frown. Her line of work really wasn't conducive to raising a family. Besides, she liked her life as it was. She was good at her job, had a tight-knit group of friends, and had a man that loved her—even if he was a ghost. She had everything she'd ever need. There was nothing to complain about, no reason to be envious of what others had. She had a good life, and Kate didn't need any more. She was fine with the way things were.

The shrill sound of her cellphone interrupted her thoughts. She opened her clutch and retrieved the offending device.

"Yo, Beckett," it was Esposito, he sounded rushed and harried. "I know you had the night off, but I think you might want to come in."

"Why?"

"Hal Lockwood just escaped custody."


	20. The Last Stand

Kate cut the ignition and took a deep breath as she sat there in the car, staring ahead at the airport hangar.

The last few days had been crazy. She was operating on very little sleep and had barely taken the time to eat, either. All her energy had been focused on tracking down Hal Lockwood since his brazen courtroom escape.

It had all started when the mercenary had been removed from administrative segregation and placed in general population. Later on, Kate and the boys discovered that a guard had been paid off to set up the transfer. Once in general population, Lockwood had wasted no time locating Gary McCallister, one of the cops involved in a ransom scheme during the late 1980s, something that they had uncovered following John Raglan's death a couple of months back. He killed McCallister with a shank.

Lockwood used their own procedures against them. Knowing he'd be transported to court for a sentencing hearing following formal charges, Lockwood had a group of hired thugs waiting to break him out. Kate had witnessed the whole thing in person. A flash grenade was used to distract the officers in the courtroom as Lockwood's men escorted him out. She was able to give chase, only to be thwarted when a helicopter landed in the middle of the street to pick up Lockwood and his band of mercenaries.

As Kate worked the case, she discovered that the conspiracy surrounding her mother's murder was much deeper and broader than she'd originally thought. She spent some time at the loft, theorizing with Castle, who seemed quite concerned and worried. He tried to caution her, but she wouldn't back down. Kate felt like she was getting close to really blowing this whole thing out into the open. The last thing she'd do was give the case up.

Lockwood was still in the wind, despite a city-wide manhunt. Kate had been pouring over case files at her desk, having sent Ryan and Esposito out to check out a lead at the cop bar Raglan and McCallister used to frequent, and was now owned by Mike Yanavich, a former cop himself, when she got a call from Montgomery.

She informed him about Yanavich, how he had worked records during the time Raglan and McCallister were running their kidnap/hostage scam. Kate suspected he might be the third cop who was a part of the scheme. But she was too focus on searching up Lockwood's connections with Dick Coonan, the hitman that had been hired to murder her mother, so she sent the boys out to do the legwork.

"I think I've found something," Montgomery had said after her lengthy briefing. "Meet me at the New Jersey hangar."

And that was how Kate Beckett found herself parked outside the small airport hangar where they had located the helicopter Lockwood had used to escape. Climbing out of the car, she took a deep breath of the cool night air. She walked towards the backdoor of the hangar. It was dark inside, the only light coming from a dispatch office door. She narrowed her eyes as she approached, catching a glimpse of a man's silhouette.

"Captain?"

"Over here," it was Montgomery.

As she strode towards him, her phone chimed with a text message. Kate casually glanced down and froze when she saw what it said.

_3_ _rd_ _cop – It's Montgomery!_

She swallowed heavily as she glanced back up, seeing her captain step out of the shadows, holding a gun in his hand.

"Roy, put the gun away," she said, after a long beat.

"Kate, I'm not going to jail for this," Montgomery said, sensing the truth was out. "I can't put my family through that."

She shook her head, confused and stunned by this revelation. Her mentor, her friend— _her captain—_ had known the truth the whole time and had said nothing. She remembered how disgusted and disappointed he had been when his friend in the district attorney's office had proven to be corrupt. He'd acted like he was the better man. But he was no different. He was the same. Her heart broke at the realization. Was it all just a lie?

"Why?" she choked out, overwhelmed with it all.

"I was a rookie when it happened, Kate," Montgomery asserted. He tried to explain his actions, that McCallister and Raglan had been heroes to him. And that what he thought they were doing was right. But everything just went wrong that night. "Bob Armen wasn't even supposed to be there. Armen reached for my gun. That's when I heard the shot. I didn't even know it was my gun that went off 'til Armen went down.

"Then McCallister pulled me into the van. I remember him saying 'it's okay, kid. It's not your fault. Happens in this town every day'," he continued after a breath. "McCallister and Raglan tried to drown it, but not me. I put it all into the job, Kate. I became the best cop I could be. And then when you walked into the Twelfth, I felt the hand of God. I knew He was giving me another chance and I thought if I could protect you the way I should have protected her."

Kate frowned, having listened to his whole speech. Uncertainty flooded her system. She stared hard at the man she had once admired so much. "Did you kill my mother?" she asked in a calm voice, trying to bottle up her emotions.

"No, that was years later," Montgomery shook his head. "But she died because of what we did that night."

"Then who killed her?"

"I don't know how, but somehow he figured out what we had done," Montgomery replied, stepping further out of the shadows. "He could have turned us all in, but instead he demanded the ransom money. He took that money to become what he is, and God forgive me, but that might be my greatest sin."

"Give me a name," Kate spoke and then paused taking a step closer to the man who had been her friend, her mentor. "You owe me that, Roy."

"No, Kate, I give you a name… I know you, you'll run straight at him," Montgomery said as soon as she had finished speaking.

"That's why you brought me here, wasn't it?" she questioned, finishing her steps, looking her mentor in the eye, devastated at the sudden thought that occurred to her. They were here all alone, in the middle of the night. "To kill me?" God, those words felt sick in her mouth. She could not believe it.

"No, I brought you here to lure them," he asserted, his eyes big and watery.

Kate furrowed her brow, confused. "You… baited them?"

Montgomery turned his head at a noise and looked out the wide-open hangar door. "And now they're coming," he stated.

Kate jerked her head to follow his gaze and spotted a pair of headlights in the distance.

"I need you to leave," Montgomery said. "There coming to kill you, and I'm not going to let them. I'm going to end this."

She shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere, sir," Kate asserted, raising her gun and taking aim at the man who she had once held in such high esteem. It broke her a little inside to do so, but she needed answers. "I'm not going until you give me a name, Roy. You owe me that much."

"Kate, please, you don't know what you're asking," Montgomery protested.

"Yes, I do," she said, firming up her aim. "A name, sir. Now."

Montgomery closed his eyes and took a breath. When he opened his eyes, there was a strange look of determination there. "Bracken," he said.

"Bracken?" Kate echoed, floored. "As in William Bracken? The senator?"

"The one and the same, yes," Montgomery nodded, glancing again at the oncoming vehicles. "I've kept files, evidence. I don't know if it's enough, but it might help."

"Where?" Kate demanded, feeling her heart rate pick up with excitement. She might finally do it. She might finally get justice for her mother.

But Montgomery shook his head, almost apologetic. "This is my spot, Kate," he said in a calm voice. "This is where I _stand_."

"The files, Roy!" Kate growled, growing frustrated.

"I sent them to a friend, Michael Smith," he divulged. "Insurance. To keep you safe." His gaze flicked over towards the approaching headlights again. "Now go, Kate. Get out of here."

"I can't do that, sir," she said. "You're an eyewitness. I'm going to need you if I'm to bring Bracken down." Despite everything she had just learned, Montgomery was still her mentor, still the man that had made her the cop she was today. She was not going to abandon him to Lockwood and his thugs. She was not going to let him sacrifice himself to save her.

They were good intentions, but futile. Montgomery recognized her stubborn streak, knowing he wasn't going to be able to talk her out of it. So, they hastily came up with a plan to ambush Lockwood and his goons. Kate hid away in the shadows, prepared to jump out when Montgomery gave the signal. But he didn't. The stubborn fool was on some redemption crusade.

Montgomery shot first, taking out one of Lockwood's guys. The mercenaries dove for cover and soon the hangar was ringing with gunshots. Kate leapt out of her hiding spot and took down two thugs, however, before she could train her gun on Lockwood, Montgomery went down. She turned to find Lockwood kneeling over him, smug in his victory. But Montgomery had a trick up his sleeve, a concealed weapon.

_BANG!_

With a single shot to the chest, Lockwood went down. Kate rushed to her mentor's side. As he gasped out his last breaths, she forgave him. He might have betrayed her, but, in the end, he'd tried to do the right thing. She hoped he found some peace now.

Finding Michael Smith proved to be more difficult than Kate had anticipated. Ryan and Esposito weren't much help, both still shocked over the revelation about their captain and grieving his death. So, Kate had to rely on Castle's astonishingly adept research abilities. She really shouldn't have been too surprised, he was a writer after all, and writers did have to do research.

The night following Montgomery's last stand, Kate gave Castle access to the NYPD system through her laptop while she showered and tried to calm the storm raging inside. But she couldn't contain it. She stood under the spray of water and crumbled. All her walls cracked and crashed down. She cried, screamed, slammed her fist against the tiled wall. Her distress wasn't unnoticed.

A cool wind battled with the hot steam of the shower as Castle materialized at the sound of her frantic screams. He held her as the panic gripped her, preventing her from falling to the floor. Her emotions were seizing control and she was helpless to prevent it. She mourned not just her captain's death, but also the breach of trust she'd had with him. He'd knowingly kept her in the dark when he could have spoken up. All those years together, and he never once said a thing. Instead, he took the cowards way out.

She hated him. But she also loved him. So many conflicting emotions clashed inside her, Kate didn't know what to think. Besides being her superior and mentor, Montgomery had been like a second father to her. It was all just so utterly heartbreaking. If she didn't have Castle in her life—in any form—Kate didn't know how she'd handle it.

Castle's cold caress tingled across her skin, contrasting with the warmth of the water blasting out from the showerhead. She buried her face in his ethereal glow, muffling her cries. Castle tenderly moved his hand down her back, causing her to shiver despite the heat. Sobbing, she reached up and placed her hand on his cheek, the static electricity snapping in the air, providing him with a modicum of solidness for her touch.

"Make me forget," she pleaded in a watery voice. "Please, Rick. Just… make me forget."

And her ghost complied, gently guiding her out of the shower and to the bed, where he made fierce and passionate love to her, letting her forget all her troubles, if just for a few hours.


	21. The Knockout

Kate Beckett stood under the flickering florescent lights in a dark parking garage late at night, waiting. While she had spent the day being grilled by internal affairs, her ghostly lover had tirelessly searched the countless databases available through her access to the NYPD system. It had taken a lot of digging, but eventually Castle had found information on Michael Smith and had also uncovered a contact number. Smith was a lawyer, and had known Roy Montgomery for as long time, ever since Roy and Evelyn had married. Once Kate got back from her extensive debriefing, she took the number Castle had obtained and made a call.

"I wish I could go with you," Castle had murmured as he rubbed her shoulders, massaging the tensed muscles, helping her relax after the long day of what was essentially an interrogation by internal affairs.

"I know," Kate had sighed, leaning back into his icy touch. She always found it odd that his spirit was constricted to the loft. For some reason she'd had never really thought of it before. She wondered why it was. What tethered him to the Broome Street apartment besides the fact he used to be his home when he was amongst the living.

"Be safe, Kate," Castle had brushed a cool kiss to her lips before she departed for her clandestine rendezvous with Smith. She promised she would be, hoping it was one she could keep.

Pursing her lips and frowning, Kate checked her wristwatch, wondering if she was being stood up. But then she heard the echo of footsteps. She glanced up to see a figure emerge out of the shadows. He was tall and distinguished looking, with a mane of white hair.

"Smith?"

"I'd prefer if we didn't use names," the man said gruffly. He walked forward and offered her a briefcase.

"What's this?" she asked, staring down at the worn casing.

"Everything Montgomery sent me," Smith asserted. "It's all there. Do with it what you will, but don't contact me again." And then he disappeared, just as abruptly as he had initially appeared.

Back at the loft, Kate cracked opened the briefcase to find it full of old police files and reports. As she dug through the pile with Castle's assistance, they found bank transfer receipts for a large sum of money. Her first thought was that it must be the ransom money Montgomery, McCallister, and Raglan had extorted from the mobsters. Follow the money. That had been one of Montgomery's first lessons when she became a detective. So she did. The first transfer took her to one account, and then another and another. She went around several loops until she reached her target.

William H. Bracken.

It all led back to him.

But this wasn't enough to prove he was involved in her mother's murder. All this proved was that he exhorted money from some dirty cops to help fund his first congressional campaign. She needed more.

"Let's call it a night, Kate," Castle suggested, hovering over her, his chilly presence causing gooseflesh to materialize along her arms. "You can look at it again in the morning with fresh eyes."

She nodded, agreeing. She was tired, and she needed some rest. Castle's ethereal form slowly disappeared as she stood up and lazily padded into the bedroom. She yawned and undressed, stripping down to just her underwear. Unhooking her bra, Kate pulled a large t-shirt over her head and crawled under the covers. The mattress dipped as Castle joined her.

Her breath fogged. The drop in room temperature and the sudden shiver down her spine alerted Kate to his close proximity. She closed her eyes and sighed, feeling his arms wrap around her in a comforting embrace. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end when he pressed a phantom kiss to her bare shoulder. She snuggled back into his ghostly embrace, and finally found sleep.

At work the next day, Kate once again poured over the files and reports from the Lockwood case, seeing if she could find anything there that would help add to what she'd found from Montgomery's files. Her desk was stacked high with files and reports, and when she pulled one folder out from the center, the whole thing collapsed like a Jenga tower. As the stack tumbled over, it knocked over some of her personal items, specifically a ceramic parade of elephants that had been her mother's.

Kate swore loudly when she rounded her desk to find it had broken. But upon further inspection, she noted that a piece had merely snapped off to reveal a hidden compartment within. Kate discovered a mini-cassette tape within the nook, like those her mother used when she was working one of many legal cases. Ryan and Esposito came over from their desks to investigate and Kate held up small tape.

"I think we have something in audio/video that that might play on," Ryan suggested.

The three of them went to the tech room, and sure enough, they did have something they could play the mini-cassette on. Kate sat down as Ryan inserted the tape and pressed the play button. What came out of the speakers was shocking. The first voice they heard was Montgomery, then Bracken. It sounded like Montgomery had recorded a conversation between himself and the then assistant district attorney. Kate frowned, confused, wondering when he had given the tape to her mother. But that didn't matter. Montgomery had captured Bracken admitting to blackmail on tape.

Narrowing her eyes, Kate listened on, hoping for more.

 _Pulgatti knows he's been framed_ ," Montgomery said on the tape. " _What if someone gets on to this?_ "

" _Then I'll handle them_ ," Bracken replied.

" _You? How?_ "

" _I know people, Roy. Dangerous people_ ," Bracken's voice resounded out of the speakers. " _Anyone gets to close, like that bitch lawyer Johanna Beckett has been poking around, I'll have them killed. I've had people killed before_."

Ryan and Esposito gasped, their heads jerking towards her almost immediately after Bracken's admission. Kate smiled, ever so slightly.

"I've got you," she murmured, staring at the speaker, talking more to herself than anyone else. "I've got you, you bastard."

XXX

Kate returned home three days later, a sense of deep satisfaction swelling in her chest. It was over. After nearly a decade, and years of personal obsession, it was finally over. Senator William H. Bracken was currently sitting in lock up at D.C. police station, awaiting formal charges. He was going to go away. They had him on tape, and once he was confronted with that and the money trail, he cracked and confessed. Even his threats of retaliations weren't enough to dampen Kate's elation over finally getting justice for her mother.

As she locked the door behind her, Kate shivered, feeling the chilly breeze that announced the approach of her beloved shadow. Turning around, Kate was graced with the image of him coalescing, the aura of blue light glowed off his form, illuminating the entryway.

"I did it," Kate announced, meeting his ethereal gaze. "It's done."

Castle smiled at her, his expression one of admiration and pride.

"She's proud of you, Kate," he said. "Wherever she is, she's proud."

Kate nodded, and reached up to cup his jaw in her hand. The air crackled and snapped with supernatural energy, and she released a soft breath of relief when her hand was met with a buzzing solidness. Tingling sensations ran down her arm, gooseflesh erupting in its wake. She licked her lips and smiled up at him.

"I never could have done this without you," she asserted.

"Me?" he chuckled, shaking his head. "I didn't do anything. It was all you, Kate. All you."

"No," she disagreed. "You helped. If only by loving me. But you did so much more, Rick. I was lost before you, wandering in a meaningless life, with only her death to define me. You gave me a solid ground to build upon. To become more than mother's death. And that, Rick, was what I needed most. I love you. Always."

His smiled at her, touched and honored. "Always," he echoed back. He floated towards her, wrapping her up in his ghostly embrace, pressing his lips to hers in an otherworldly kiss that had her body both shivering and warming.

She pulled back with a big, beaming smile. "Now, Castle, take me to bed and let's celebrate."

XXX

It was a bright sunny day, contrasting harshly with the solemn affair of Captain Roy Montgomery's funeral. Though his legacy was somewhat tarnish by the recent arrest of William Bracken. Kate had done her best to lessen the impact of Montgomery's involvement, but unfortunately it couldn't be helped. His part in the extortion scheme alongside McCallister and Raglan was what gave the investigation the link to Bracken. Evelyn didn't blame Kate for seizing on it and using it bring the corrupt senator to justice.

Kate offered to give the eulogy for Montgomery, and the captain's wife accepted the gesture. As one of the pallbearers, along with Ryan and Esposito, Kate helped carry Montgomery's coffin from the hearse to the grave site. If it were not for his connection with Bracken, Kate was positive he'd have received a much larger funeral. As it was, only a few of his fellow captains attended, but none of the brass from One Police Plaza. He wasn't one of their honored dead. She thought they were all a bunch of hypocrites. The internal politics within the NYPD upper echelons was brutal. None of them were innocent in her opinion.

Stepping up to the podium, Kate unfolded the piece of paper with her speech. She had stayed up late the night before going over it with Castle. Montgomery had made mistakes, and had betrayed her trust, but in the end, he had still been a good man. He'd tried to do the right thing and fix his mistakes, but it hadn't been enough. He was now dead. She didn't want him to be remembered for that.

"Roy Montgomery taught me what it meant to be a cop," Kate spoke out to the small gathering. "He taught me that we are bound by our choices, but we are more than our mistakes." Her voice trailed off as she swallowed down the raw and conflicting emotions surrounding his death. "Captain Montgomery once said to me that for us there is no victory. There are only battles. And in the end, the best you can hope for is to find a place to make your stand. And if you're very lucky, you find someone to stand with you."

She paused for a beat, thinking of Castle. She had found her person. Even if he was already dead, she still felt lucky and honored to have him.

"Our captain would want us to carry on the fight. And even if there is—"

Her speech was interrupted by a loud bang that resounded throughout the commentary. Kate gasped, feeling a sharp sting in her chest. She fell, choking and coughing, a tight pain overwhelming her senses. Her eyes flirted around, searching for something, but she couldn't find it. She stared up at the bright sunny sky, wondering if this was it—were these her last moments?

Everything suddenly got so cold, so very cold. And quiet. So very quiet. Her eyelids grew heavy and she wanted to sleep. She thought of Castle, pictured his beautiful face and felt his love. It made her feel warm and comforted. She blocked out the agonizing pain raging through her entire body, and thought of nothing but him and his love. It gave her comfort, made things easier to endure. Kate kept the image of him in her mind as her eyes closed and the darkness finally consumed her.


	22. Epilogue - The Everlasting

Ghosts.

Webster's Dictionary defined a ghost as _a disembodied soul;_ _especially_ _: the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness_.

And perhaps that was true. But, like most things in the vast universe of human knowledge and experience, only very little was known, and not all of it believed. Some called it superstition. Others called it the gospel truth. But what was it really? Was the answer somewhere in the middle?

For Kate Beckett, the word ghost referred to the man she loved, Richard Castle. He had died, rather violently, at the hands of a deranged fan. For whatever reasons, his soul was unable to move on. He had unfinished business. His ghost inhabited the loft she leased after her previous apartment had been destroyed during a stalker case.

He had started haunting her at first, but not in the traditional sense. It was little things, like moving books or messing with the television because he disliked her obsession with _Nebula 9_. And then he started writing a book, about her. She soon noticed her laptop was being used while she was gone. It took her some time—she was stubborn, after all—but eventually Kate admitted she was being haunted. They started to communicate. They fell in love. They made love. She thought she might be pregnant. She wasn't. He helped her grow and learn she was more than just her tragic past. And with him supporting her, Kate Beckett brought the man responsible for her mother's death to justice.

And then she was shot.

Kate saw only darkness for a long time. It consumed her, burying her in a sea of misery and despair. But then, a light appeared. A bright glowing light. Marvelous and wonderful. Uncertain and afraid, Kate went towards the light, hoping to find some peace. She soared forward, feeling rejuvenated. A warmth feeling of love and acceptance embraced her as she neared the bright light. It was extraordinary. Kate closed her eyes and smiled, feeling joy like never before.

Opening her eyes, Kate found herself surrounded by a prismatic color of light. It was beautiful and wondrous.

Was this heaven?

"Kate?"

She blinked, turning towards the sound of the voice. A humanoid form slowly began to coalesce amongst the rainbow colors. An ethereal shade of blue glowed around the figure. Gradually, features started to appear, soft and serene, and so very familiar. A face appeared, and soon the rest. It was a woman, with lovely features and a kind smile. And one Kate new well.

"Mom!" she gasped, startled and surprised. "Is that you?"

"Yes, honey, it's me," Johanna Beckett confirmed, floating over to her with the grace of an angel upon high.

Kate cried with joy, embracing her mother with a fierceness indicative of their long separation. Johanna hugged her back, surrounding her in a mother's love. After what seemed like an eternity, the two women pulled back and gazed at each other, soaking in the warmth of their reunion. It was then, surrounded by the energetic prismatic glow that the realization hit Kate.

"I'm dead," she stated. There was no question. She clearly remembered it. "Is this heaven?"

Johanna smiled. "Something like that, yes."

A frowned marred Kate's beautiful features. If this was heaven, then there was something missing. It wasn't right. She shouldn't be here. She had unfinished business. While she was overjoyed beyond belief to be reunited with her mother, someone else needed her. And she needed him.

"Over there," Johanna said with a soft smile, touching her shoulder and turning Kate towards another coalescing form.

"Castle!" Kate sobbed with joy, seeing the ruggedly handsome features of the man she loved materialize out of the prismatic energy.

Without thinking, she lurched forward, flying towards him with tremendous speed. The wind whipped around her as she soared through the rainbow light. Her chest filled with a sense of relief and gratitude as she stretched her arms out and met him at full force, hugging him tightly and ramming her mouth to his in a passionate embrace. When they pulled back, Castle blinked and stared at her in confusion. Kate reached out a reassuring hand and caressed the side of face, gasping when it felt warm under her touch.

"Kate?" he questioned, brow furrowing. "What happened?"

"I think I died," she said, gazing at him in awe, unable to stop touching him, feeling warmth beneath her fingertips. This whole place was warm, the perfect temperature, perfect and comfortable.

"Where are we?" he asked, glancing around, staring with wide eyes at the glittering prism around them. "One moment I was in the loft, waiting for you to come back from Montgomery's funeral, and then the next I was here."

Kate tenderly rubbed his side. "I don't really know, Castle," she said, pausing in her adoration of the man she loved to glance back over her shoulder. She looked at her mother, watching her float there with a loving smile on her face. "But I think this might be heaven, or something like that."

Castle pursed his lips, and his eyebrows knitted together as he thought. "If I'm here, then I guess I don't have any unfinished business left then," he asserted.

"You are correct, Rick," Johanna affirmed, floating over to join them, the blue aura around her glowing strong.

"Johanna?" Castle asked.

She nodded.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, extending his hand.

She took it with a smile. "The pleasures all mine," she said. "You saved my daughter."

"But she's dead," Castle stated the obvious.

Johanna smiled knowingly. "There's more than one way to save someone," she explained, enigmatically.

Castle inclined his head, glancing at Kate to see if she understood. She didn't. She was as confused as he was. She clutched his hand in hers, relishing the warmth that radiated from his being. Turning to her mother, Kate opened her mouth to inquire further, but Johanna stopped her.

"You are soulmates," her mother announced. "That is why you are here together. And that was why Rick was tethered to the earthly plane of existence." Johanna smiled at them, like an angel. Then she floated away, disappearing into the prismatic colors illuminating this wondrous realm, leaving the two lovers alone.

"Soulmates," Castle echoed, arching his neck to look at her, smiling widely. "What do you think of that, Kate?"

"Well, it does explain a lot," she said with an answering grin.

"I love you, Katherine Beckett," Castle said, curling his fingers around her waist to tug her closer.

"And I love you, Richard Castle," Kate declared. "Always."

She moved up and captured his mouth in a soaring kiss, one that lit up her soul with jubilant joy and rapturous bliss. The world around them flooded with colors. Kate could feel his love, could read his thoughts. It was like their minds had become one. All that existed was their love. They really were soulmates. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the embrace.

For the first time in a long time, Kate Beckett was at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: There you have it. I hope I did it justice. I debated going this route, but as it was what I had originally planned back when I started writing MIDNIGHT, I decided to stick with it. Caskett are forever together in everlasting love and bliss. Thank you for coming along for the ride, I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time! - Travis


End file.
